Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. not shying away from lofty 50-50 goal entering contract year

SARASOTA, Fla. — Right after securing a 30-30 season last September, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was already talking about wanting to reach 40-40.

Five months later, entering a vital contract year, the Yankees star is already jumping ahead to talk of a 50-50 season, which has only been done once in the history of the game, by Shohei Ohtani.

Give Chisholm this: He is never going to set his sights too low, or too boring.

“I’m not going to say nothing that I don’t think I can do,” he said after getting on base twice in his spring debut, a 2-0 loss to the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. “I’m always going to speak positive into the atmosphere. I’m never going to tell myself or tell anybody that, ‘Oh, I’m just going to have a year where I hit 10 home runs and hit .250.’ Who does that sound like? A loser. That’s a loser.

“I’m going to go shoot for the stars and if I miss, I’m going to end up on the moon.”

The Yankees would certainly take the moon, with Chisholm coming off a season in which he hit 31 home runs and stole 31 bases despite missing a month with an oblique injury and not attempting a steal for another month while he played through a groin issue.

Chisholm is heading into his final year under club control, and while hundreds of millions of dollars could be waiting on the other side of it, he is planning on using the pressure of such a big season to his advantage.

“I think that brings out the best in me,” he said. “The contract year is even better for me. I like pressure. I like going out there and having to play for something, having to go and do it. Go win games and make it meaningful every day. That’s what baseball’s supposed to be about. You play for people, you play for your family, you play for your friends at home and you play for the team you’re wearing every time you go out there. And also, you play for yourself.

“At the end of the day, when you’re going out there and doing all that, how can you not get pumped up and excited and enjoy the ride? It’s just like a roller coaster. If you don’t enjoy the ride, it’s going to suck. But when you enjoy the ride, it’s one of the best rides of your life.”

Chisholm also added that he will be playing this season for his best friend growing up, who died unexpectedly last year.

“That’s what I’m really playing this year for is my best friend, that he is not going to get to see me go into free agency,” he said. “He’s not going to get to see me sign the long-term deal we’ve been talking about since I was kid. He’s not going to be able to see a lot of things that I do and it sucks. I wish he was here. I still miss him to this day. So yeah, that’s who I play for.”

Jake Bird threw a scoreless inning of relief, allowing only an infield single that he quickly erased on a double play.