Jazz Chisholm Jr. can make more Yankees history at Home Run Derby

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Jul 14, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Jazz Chisholm Jr. has a chance to join an illustrious list of Yankees at Monday night’s Home Run Derby.

The slugging second baseman seeks to become the fifth Yankee to win MLB’s annual All-Star power exhibition, following in the footsteps of Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002), Robinson Cano (2011) and Aaron Judge (2017).

“I’m just going out there to have fun,” Chisholm, 27, said a few days before the event at Truist Park in Atlanta. “I ain’t trying to think that hard about it. I’m not even gonna really practice for it.”

Chisholm is set to become the seventh Yankee to compete in the derby and the first since Judge in 2017. The Yankees are the only franchise to win the derby four times.

It will be the first derby appearance for Chisholm, who is a second-time All-Star after hitting 17 homers in the first half.

Chisholm faces stiff competition at the derby, as the eight-man field also includes the MLB home run leader in Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, as well as Atlanta’s Matt Olson, who will have the support of the home crowd.

There’s also Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whom Chisholm named as one of the top derby threats. Cruz is among MLB’s leaders in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity and barrel percentage.

Rounding out the competition are Washington’s James Wood, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Minnesota’s Byron Buxton and Brent Rooker of the A’s.

Chisholm’s stepfather, Geron Sands, is set to pitch to him.

“He throws to me all the time. From when I was a kid, he’s been throwing to me,” Chisholm said. “He throws to me every year in the Bahamas derby. It ain’t nothing new to us.”

This year’s derby features three rounds, the first of which gives each player three minutes or 40 pitches to hit as many homers as possible. The four players with the most homers advance to the second round, where the format switches to head-to-head matchups for the two spots in the final.

Chisholm will not have to contend with two-time derby champion Pete Alonso, who declined MLB’s invitation to compete in the event for a sixth time.

“I’ve never really fully enjoyed the three off days, so I think for me, I just want to be in the best possible position to help this team win in the second half,” Alonso said last week. “Personally, I feel like I’m in a groove with certain things.”

Alonso had participated in the event every year it was held since 2019, when he won it as a rookie. He also won it in 2021. The derby didn’t happen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I definitely will do it again,” Alonso said. “It doesn’t mean no forever. If an All-Star Game happens at Citi Field or another park that I love to hit at like Fenway or Wrigley, like, for sure.”

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