SAN FRANCISCO — Jazz Chisholm Jr. was mic’d up for the Netflix broadcast during the Yankees’ 7-0 Opening Day win over the Giants on Wednesday night. He made it must-see television.
The Yankees second baseman was chatting with announcers during the second inning when the conversation drifted to one of the game’s most sensitive topics: sign stealing. The question was simple enough. As a middle infielder, Chisholm would have a front-row seat to opposing runners on second base trying to peek in on the catcher’s setup and the pitcher’s grip.
But instead of deflecting or giving a diplomatic answer, Chisholm went the other direction entirely.
Did the Yankees do it too?
“We do it,” Chisholm admitted openly.
Chisholm’s candid sign-stealing comment turns heads
To be clear, what Jazz Chisholm described is perfectly legal. Runners on second base have always been able to observe how a pitcher holds the ball or how a catcher positions himself. As long as no electronic devices or off-field technology is involved, relaying information from the basepaths is part of the game.
Still, hearing a Yankees player say it that bluntly on a national broadcast is unusual. Most players dance around the subject. Chisholm did not. His two-word answer confirmed what everyone in baseball already knows but rarely says out loud: every team looks for an edge, and if the opposing battery does not protect its signs, that information is fair game.
The admission is unlikely to draw any discipline from Major League Baseball, since the practice falls within the rules. But it was the kind of moment that will generate conversation around the Yankees and the broader culture of gamesmanship in the sport.
Chisholm doubles down on 50-50 goal
The sign-stealing comment was not the only headline Chisholm produced during the interview. When the conversation turned to his goals for the 2026 season, the Yankees infielder did not back down from the target he set in spring training: 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases.
That feat has been accomplished only once in MLB history, by Shohei Ohtani two seasons ago.
“Why not shoot for the stars and land on the moon?” Chisholm said. “I felt like every time I shoot low I end up low.”
Chisholm, in his first full season with the Yankees in 2025, hit a career-high 31 home runs and stole 31 bases, going 30-30 for the first time in his career. He became the first Yankee to reach that milestone since Alfonso Soriano in 2003.
He set the 50-50 challenge publicly during the early days of camp in Tampa this February, and he has not wavered since.
“I’m not going to say nothing that I don’t think I can do,” Chisholm said in spring training. “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.”
Chisholm backs up the talk on the field
Chisholm did more than talk on Wednesday. He was right in the middle of the action from the start.
In the top of the second inning, he was hit by a Logan Webb sinker with runners on base. He came around to score as part of the Yankees’ five-run rally that blew the game open. He finished 1-for-3 with a single and a run scored.
In the fifth inning, Chisholm reached on a fielder’s choice and then swiped second base with a headfirst slide, recording the first stolen base of his 2026 Yankees season. If his 50-50 goal is going to happen, moments like that will need to pile up over the next six months.
He also flashed his defensive instincts in the bottom of the sixth. Giants third baseman Matt Chapman lined a ball at Chisholm at 106.7 mph. The shot deflected off his glove and popped into the air, but the Yankees infielder snagged it bare-handed before it hit the ground. Even he looked stunned that he held on. It was the kind of heads-up play that the Yankees will need from him throughout the season.
Anime cleats and a Netflix debut
Chisholm also made a fashion statement before the game even started. He pulled up to Oracle Park wearing custom cleats inspired by the anime series “One Piece,” along with a matching glove. It was far from the first time the Yankees second baseman showed off his love for anime. He wore a “One Piece” chain during photo day in 2025, and he has sported similar themed gear throughout his career.
The timing was fitting. Wednesday’s Yankees game was the first MLB contest to stream on Netflix, the same company that produces the live-action “One Piece” series. Chisholm’s personalized glove got its most memorable moment on the bare-handed catch off Chapman, an ironic twist that was not lost on Yankees fans watching at home.
Contract year adds fuel to the fire
Chisholm is playing the 2026 season in the final year of his contract. Every big moment this year carries extra weight as he plays for his next deal, whether it comes from the Yankees or elsewhere.
His willingness to set enormous public goals, admit to legal sign stealing on national television and then back it all up with hustle plays on the basepaths and in the field tells you everything about how Chisholm plans to approach this season. The Yankees got a taste of that personality when they acquired him, and on Opening Day, the rest of the league was reminded of it.
The Yankees and Giants resume the series Friday with right-hander Cam Schlittler on the mound for New York against left-hander Robbie Ray. If Wednesday was any indication, Chisholm will be worth watching every time he steps on the field, whether he has a microphone on or not.
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