HOUSTON -- The 30/30 season has been rather uncommon in Yankees annals. Consider Jazz Chisholm Jr. in hot pursuit.
Perhaps fitting for a franchise known as the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees claim more players with 60-home run campaigns (Aaron Judge, Roger Maris and Babe Ruth) than those who amassed 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in the same year (Alfonso Soriano in 2002 and '03 and Bobby Bonds in 1975).
But with two more homers and four more steals, Chisholm can join the 30/30 ranks. His 28 home runs heading into Wednesday's game in Houston is already a career high, and his 26 steals were eclipsed only by the 40 he recorded last year, when he came to the Yankees in a late July trade with the Marlins.
“I feel like it would be great,” the 27-year-old infielder said of achieving 30/30, particularly considering he missed 28 games after straining his right oblique in an April 29 at-bat against the Orioles. “My whole career I always thought that I could be better than 30/30 every time if I stayed healthy. And even though I really didn’t stay healthy this year, I’m still showing that I can get there.”
Chisholm entered play Wednesday with a .243/.342/.505 slash line. Over his previous 15 games, he was hitting .280 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs. And thanks to 11 walks (giving him a career-high 54), Chisholm had a .403 on-base percentage in that span.
"I think what we’re seeing with Jazz more now is he’s really starting to control the strike zone, and that’s allowing him to kind of go to another level as a hitter,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s never walked like this. You’re seeing him routinely do that. You’re seeing him routinely work counts. That’s one of the exciting parts for a guy obviously in the prime of his career now to really start to know the zone as well as he is. That’s going to allow him to ascend even more.”
Boone was notably impressed with Chisholm’s two home runs off Astros left-handers Framber Valdez and Steven Okert in Tuesday night’s 7-1 New York win. That doubled to four the number of homers Chisholm has his hit off lefties this season.
Chisholm said some of his success lies in trusting teammates who relay what they’ve seen from a pitcher before he goes into the batter’s box. He cited fellow left-handed hitters Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice.
"I’ve been getting good, good scouting reports lately,” said Chisholm, who shared what Grisham told him before Tuesday’s second-inning homer off an elevated Valdez sinker, which Chisholm sent over the right-field fence for his 500th career hit.
“The first home run was more of, ‘You get him a little bit up [in the strike zone], just push him up and take your normal swing, and you’re going to hit a homer to right field,’” Chisholm said. “And I’m like, ‘OK, we’ll see.’ The first pitch, I didn’t get him up enough, and I fouled it back. And I was like, ‘OK, I see what he’s talking about.’ And then for some reason, the other one was right in the spot that he was talking about, and I just swung. I didn’t even think about trying to pull it, trying to go opposite field. I just swung the bat like I know how to swing the bat, and it was a homer. So the scouting reports worked.”
First-year Yankees pitcher Max Fried got a glimpse of Chisholm’s capabilities when they were NL East opponents with the Braves and Marlins.
"He’s always had the tools and being able to have the power,” Fried said Tuesday after earning his 15th win. “I think you’re seeing him able to just really tap into it.”
Bonds was the first 30/30 Yankee in 1975, when, in his lone year with the franchise, he paired 32 home runs with 30 stolen bases for the third of his five career 30/30 campaigns. Soriano’s four 30/30 seasons included two with the Yankees: 2002 (39 homers, 41 steals) and 2003 (38 homers, 35 steals).
It likely won’t be long before Chisholm realizes his 30/30 vision.
"He’s playing really good baseball,” Boone said. “I think the remarkable part is he missed a month of the season and then when he came back didn’t run for a month. It’s just a little peek into just some special things he can do out there. And to be knocking on the door of 30/30 right now is a testament to his ability and just how much fast twitch and speed and power he has.”