Jazz Chisholm Jr. is embracing the challenge he set in spring training.
In the early days of camp in Tampa, Fla., the Yankees second baseman said his goal for 2026 is a beefy one — hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases.
That feat has only been accomplished once, by Shohei Ohtani two seasons ago.
But while talking with the Netflix broadcast in the second inning of Opening Day in San Francisco, Chisholm said he isn’t backing down from the challenge.
“Why not shoot for the stars and land on the moon?” Chisholm said. “I felt like every time I shoot low I end up low.”
Chisholm, in his first full season with the Yankees last year, blasted a career-high 31 homers with as many stolen bases, going 30-30 for the first time in his career. He became the first Yankee to go 30-30 since Alfonso Soriano in 2003.
He explained in February that he wouldn’t have set the goal for himself publicly if he didn’t believe he could accomplish it.
“I’m not going to say nothing that I don’t think I can do,” he said after getting on base twice in his spring debut, a 2-0 loss to the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. “I’m always going to speak positive into the atmosphere. I’m never going to tell myself or tell anybody that, ‘Oh, I’m just going to have a year where I hit 10 home runs and hit .250.’ Who does that sound like? A loser. That’s a loser.”
Chisholm, in the final year of his contract, started the season by getting drilled by a pitch from Giants ace Logan Webb in the second inning, scoring a run in a five-run Yankees outburst.
He grounded out in his next time up.
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