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Friday night Jazz Chisholm Jr. accomplished something that had been done only three times previously in New York Yankees history. Chisholm swatted a two-run home run in his club’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles (BAL 4, NY 2) and joined the 30-30 club. He did that despite missing 29 games with an oblique injury earlier this season.
Here is Chisholm’s 30th home run. He stole his 30th base last weekend.
“30-30 invokes a lot of things, and it certainly lines up with his skill set,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Friday’s game. “I think that he’s moving the needle and getting better as a player.”
Prior to Chisholm, only two Yankees had ever put up 30-30 seasons: Bobby Bonds had 32 homers and 30 steals in 1975, and Alfonso Soriano did it in both 2002 (39 homers and 41 steals) and 2003 (38 homers and 35 stolen bases). With the injury, Chisholm could’ve made a run at the first 40-40 season in Yankees history.
The Atlanta Braves (five) and New York Mets (six) are the only teams with more 30-30 seasons than the Yankees.
Chisholm, 27, is hitting .242/.332/.484 with those 30 homers and 30 steals this season. He was an All-Star in July. Since joining the Yankees in a deadline deal with the Miami Marlins last year, Chisholm has 41 home runs and 49 steals in 168 games. His 6.6 WAR since the day of the trade ranks 16th among all position players.
Friday’s loss dropped the Yankees to 86-68 on the season. They are three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East and 3 ½ games up on a wild card spot. New York has a two-game lead over the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox for the top wild card spot and thus home field advantage in the Wild Card Series.