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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The question lingers: could Jazz Chisholm Jr. have executed a double play if he’d handled the ball cleanly during the bottom of the 10th inning on Saturday night?
His grasp of the rulebook appears equally uncertain.
Reflecting on the pivotal play—a tie game with one out and the bases loaded—Chisholm fumbled a chance for a tag-and-throw double play due to a bobble. He speculated aloud about the possibility of throwing to first before attempting a tag play at second for an inning-ending double play, admitting, “I don’t know what the rule is.” Teammate Trent Grisham, seated beside him after their 5-4 defeat, clarified that the third-base runner would have crossed home plate before any tag at second, sealing the game regardless.
By Sunday morning, manager Aaron Boone was adamant that Chisholm indeed understands the rules.
“We’ll discuss it further,” Boone stated ahead of the series finale at Tropicana Field. “He’s clear on the rules. When faced with reporters, his default response might have been uncertain. Reviewing the play, there might have been a slim chance to execute the tag if he fielded it cleanly, but it’s difficult to predict how [Yandy] Diaz would react running from first to second. Once the ball takes a bad hop, it complicates turning the classic 4-6-3 double play.”
Asked directly about Chisholm saying he didn’t know the rule, Boone replied, “I think he knows the rule.”
Chisholm, who is in the minority in that he typically does not just give cliche or canned answers to reporters, has been crushed on social media for saying he did not know the rule.
“Look, I think part of it comes to answering those things in a better way,” Boone said. “You guys are around — Jazz is not a dumb guy. So it’s just sometimes how you present yourself in certain situations, coupled with he’s off to a little bit of a slow start too. Some good play changes that narrative.”