Baseball players will do the weirdest things to break out of a slump. Entering play on May 15, New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was slashing .203/.281/.327 with four homers and a 74 wRC+.
That’s when Chisholm decided to make a drastic change. He decided to borrow Giancarlo Stanton’s pants to break this slump.
It’s certainly an odd choice, given the massive size difference between the two Yankees. Stanton is a behemoth of a human being at 6’6″ and 240 lbs., while Chisholm is a slender 5’11”, 184 lbs., and reeks of athleticism. It’s safe to say they looked a little big on him.
After wearing Trent Grisham’s pants during games earlier in the season, he wore Giancarlo Stanton’s in tonight’s Subway Series opener 🚊
Since the change, Chisholm is on a hot streak. In the four games since, he’s collected nine hits in 16 at-bats (.563 average) with three doubles and a game-winning home run against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Giancarlo Stanton Discusses Jazz Chisholm’s Use of His Pants
Chisholm’s use of his pants was a talking point when the media talked to the veteran slugger. Stanton had this to say about it.
“I think it’s great,” Stanton told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “It’s definitely cool, especially he’s been raking in them, so I think it’s gonna stay.”
Stanton later joked that his pants have homers in them.
The Yankees await Stanton’s return from a calf injury. The All-Star slugger has been out since April 25 with a right calf strain. The latest report from Phillips is not too encouraging, as Stanton’s yet to be cleared to run.
He hopes that once he’s cleared to run — he may need another MRI for that — it will be quick return to play.
“I want to be back as soon as possible.” #Yankees
The pants may become an issue once Stanton finishes recovering from his calf injury. Someone jokingly asked the slugger if he would wear Chisholm’s pants for a game, and he said this.
“We might work on it, see what we can do.”
Jazz Chisholm Explains Wearing Teammates’ Pants
Stanton isn’t the first Yankees teammate whose pants Chisholm has borrowed this season. Earlier in the year, he wore outfielder Trent Grisham’s pants. Grisham is a bit closer to Chisholm’s height at 5’10” but listed at a beefy 221 lbs.
Phillips published a story on May 16 about Chisholm’s interest in his teammates’ pants. The Yankees’ second baseman started the baggy pants with high socks look as a way to honor Jackie Robinson last season. When Jackie Robinson Day rolled around again this year, he sought Grisham’s pants to complete the look.
Ultimately, the pants became a good luck charm. Grisham revealed that Chisholm just took his pants, and no further requests were needed.
“You play this game long enough, you start thinking funny,” Grisham told Phillips.
Chisholm couldn’t get a hold of Grisham’s pants ahead of the Subway Series opener. Instead, he turned to an injured teammate’s set of pants to keep the good luck charm rolling. After a 3-for-4 performance against the Mets in a 5-2 win, Stanton’s pants became the new good luck charm.
“I like the pants that give me hits,” Chisholm told Phillips. “I’m not that superstitious, but I’m a little stitious.”
One teammate whom Chisholm said has bad luck pants was Randal Grichuk. The right-handed-hitting outfielder had a short stay with the Yankees. Grichuk has since found a new home with the Chicago White Sox and is thriving there.
However, it might be a lot more difficult for Chisholm to get the hits out of Grichuk’s new set of threads. But that might not be a problem, as long as Stanton’s pants still have homers in them.
Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton Sends Message to Teammate Borrowing His Pants