Jazz Chisholm Jr can’t escape the injury bug — or the spotlight for that matter.
The New York Yankees third baseman survived an injury scare while also dialing up a feud with the Kansas City Royals and third baseman Maikel Garcia during New York’s 10-2 win over the Royals on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.
Chisholm, who just returned last week after missing more than a month with an oblique injury sustained April 30, left the game with neck tightness after Garcia made a hard tag on his head during a stolen base in the sixth inning.
Chisholm did re-take his position at third base in the subsequent inning, and made another error on a spin throw. He struck out in his next turn at the plate in the top of the seventh but was replaced by Oswald Peraza in the bottom of the seventh.
What Did Jazz Chisholm Jr Say To Maikel Garcia?
Chisholm was clearly agitated by Garcia’s hard tag, which would not have mattered since Garcia dropped the ball on catcher Freddy Fermin’s throw.
Yankees medical staff checked on Chisholm after the stolen base, and even though he was OK physically at first, he was fired up.
“I’m going to tell you one more time if he tags me like that one more time, I’m going to smack the [expletive] out of him,” TV cameras captured Chisholm saying to Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas.
Garcia denied any wrongdoing.
“I was just trying to do my job, tag him,” Garcia said, according to ESPN.com. “I missed the ball.
Garcia added, when informed of what Chisholm said on the field, “I’m waiting for it. … It’s just talk.”
Since When Are The Royals and Yankees Rivals?
There is history between Garcia and Chisholm that stems back to the Yankees-Royals American League Division Series from 2024.
Chisholm told reporters after Kansas City’s 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of ALDS that it “got lucky” to win the game.
The Yankees won the subsequent two games en route to the World Series, and after the series Chisholm called Garcia a “sore loser” after the New York infielder deemed Garcia’s take-out slide on Anthony Volpe excessive.
“I just feel like every time we have a problem, it’s always been him,” Chisholm said according to ESPN.com. “I mean, that’s the only reason I was so frustrated. And then to even see that he didn’t even have the ball for the way that he tagged me. I didn’t like it.”
Royals fans have deemed the Yankees a rival since the early-1980s. But Chisholm’s comments from last October added a modern element to the rivalry and earned him boos from the announced crowd of 30,017 at Kauffman Stadium, which included Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“I went up to home plate today and told Fermin, ‘I kind of like it,’” Chisholm sai. “I’m not at home, so I would rather walk up to something instead of walking up to no noise at all. … I feel like it’s just, like, bland. Go ahead and boo me. You’ve giving me some music to at least walk up to.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees Star Reignites Feud With Rivals After Leaving Game Due To Injury appeared first on Heavy Sports.