Jazz Chisholm Jr. was on the field for most of the New York Yankees‘ game against the Tampa Bay Rays until he was ejected in the 7th inning after arguing a strike call he didn’t agree with. After expressing his frustration, he exchanged words with the umpire — who then tossed him from the game with the usual signal.
“We’re ball players, we are in the heat of the moment, we want to win every at-bat, we want to win every pitch. So when you work that hard and it doesn’t go your way, you really think it’s a ball, you get fired up, and I’m very passionate about my game,” Chisholm Jr. said after the game.
Chisholm Jr. emphasized that he’s a competitor. He said every time he steps on the field, he believes in what he’s seeing — which led to the heated exchange after hearing the umpire’s explanation of the strike call, something the Yankees player strongly disagreed with.
Recent struggles have also played a role
Chisholm Jr. acknowledged he hasn’t been producing many hits early in the MLB season and admitted that his recent frustrations at the plate may have contributed to his reaction — but they’re not the full story.
“You can say that, I guess. I feel like a lot of stuff hasn’t been going my way, but that doesn’t give me the excuse to go out there and act like that. Like I said, I’m a ball player, I have emotions. I know I’ve acted like that in the past, but I’ve been working on that… trying to be patient, trying to be cool…”
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Still, ejections have been rare lately
Despite getting tossed, Chisholm Jr. said he’s been working hard to keep his emotions in check — a major change from his time with the Marlins, when he admitted to being ejected multiple times in a single season.