New Yankee Has Strong Response to Being Voted MLB's Most Overrated Player
By Evan Bleier
![New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the field in the Bronx. New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the field in the Bronx.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4843,h_2724,x_0,y_20/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/thebiglead_en_international_web/01j53jw4ek6jg36xe2yx.jpg)
A one-time All-Star who already has a career-best 20 home runs, 61 RBI and 26 steals with more than six weeks of baseball left to play, infielder Jazz Chisholm has made a strong impression with fans in New York since being dealt to the Yankees ahead of last month's trade deadline.
Acquired from the Miami Marlins for three prospects, Chisholm also made a memorable impression on his peers before donning pinstripes in July, albeit a far less positive one.
Jazz Chisholm in his first 12 games with the Yankees:
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) August 11, 2024
202 wRC+ | .740 SLG% | 7 HR | +2 OAA | 1.1 fWAR pic.twitter.com/GuFwHZjNp2
In a spring survey of more than 100 MLB players split between the National and American League that was conducted by The Athletic and published in June, Chisholm was voted the most overrated player in baseball by a substantial margin.
A fifth-year player with a career batting average hovering around .250, 26-year-old Chisholm took home 20 percent of the vote. Anthony Rendon, who plays for the Angels and was on the 2019 Washington Nationals team that won the World Series, was the only other player in double digits with 10.2 percent of the vote. Rendon and Chisholm were followed by Carlos Correa (6.7 percent) and Tim Anderson and Jack Flaherty (5 percent apiece).
Jazz Chisholm now has 7 homers for the #Yankees in 12 games played:
— Know Nonsense (@KnowNonsense_) August 10, 2024
That’s a 95 home run pace over a 162 game season
pic.twitter.com/qwi0sCo8Oq
Speaking to Fox Sports about his hot start with the Bronx Bombers, Chisholm' responded to the players who anonymously called him overrated during spring training. "I didn't really care," he said. "Who cares what somebody else has to say about me? If he really voted that I'm overrated, that means you got something in your psyche, brother."
The cover athlete of last year’s "MLB The Show" video game, Chisholm elaborated about his feelings on the subject. "Like me, I'm not going out and voting who's an overrated player because I don't even know who an overrated player is. I don't look at people that hard. I only look at people who are good, I'm sorry. So you call me overrated, I gotta be good. That's how I look at it."
Jazz Chisholm in his first 12 games with the Yankees:
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) August 11, 2024
202 wRC+ | .740 SLG% | 7 HR | +2 OAA | 1.1 fWAR pic.twitter.com/GuFwHZjNp2
The way Chisholm is handling the slight is certainly working out for him as he's been one of MLB's hottest hitters since joining the Yankees and figures to play a large role in New York's postseason performance. A member of two Miami playoff teams, Chisholm has never won a playoff game (0-3). If that changes in New York, perhaps his peers' perception of him will change as well.