NEW YORK — Shoeless Jazz crossed the plate, a century after Shoeless Joe.
Both of Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s cleats flew off his feet as he scored from second base in the New York Yankees‘ 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in an unusual morning start Sunday.
“I was so sweaty. My socks were wet. Everything had just slipped straight out,” he said.
Chisholm doubled twice, including a go-ahead, two-run drive off the right-center-field wall in the eighth inning, then slid into catcher Gary Sánchez for the final run as New York put the shoe on the other foot, so to speak. The AL East-leading Yankees won their second straight after losing seven of eight in a game that will be remembered for Chisholm’s size 10½ Jordan 1 spikes.
Shoeless Joe supposedly was given his nickname on June 6, 1908, playing semipro ball for the independent Greenville Spinners against the Anderson Electricians. New cleats had caused blisters, and he took them off and hit a long home run in the seventh inning.
Jackson won a World Series title with the Chicago White Sox in 1917, then was among eight players on the so-called “Black Sox” who were banned for life after they were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 Series to Cincinnati in exchange for money from gamblers. He finished with a .356 average in 13 major league seasons.
Asked whether he should be called Shoeless Jazz, Chisholm responded: “Wow. Is that how Shoeless Joe got his name? He ran out of his shoe?” When told Jackson earned the nickname in the 1910s, Chisholm quipped: “Oh, so he wasn’t wearing shoes.”
“I saw a lot of firsts,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. “11:30 game to a guy losing both his shoes. I’ve seen one cleat kind of running but not both like that. That was awesome.”
Chisholm is hitting .350 (21-for-60) with 11 RBIs since returning from a strained right oblique that caused him to miss 28 games. He raised his average to .242.
“That’s what I live for. That’s how I grew up playing baseball in high school, little league,” he said. “I don’t feel like it’s no need to change.”
New York trailed 2-0 when Chisholm hit a two-out double off Dean Kremer and headed for home on DJ LeMahieu‘s single to left.
“They say he’s the best shoe tier. I didn’t understand it until he actually did. It took me like a minute to take off my shoes just now.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. on asking rookie Jasson Domínguez to tie his laces after putting on fresh socks and his spikes
Chisholm’s left shoe popped off between third and home. Seeing rookie catcher Maverick Handley move to his left for Colton Cowser‘s throw up the third-base line, Chisholm tried to veer to avoid contact. He caught the catcher with his right arm as Cowser was spun to the ground and the ball popped out of his mitt. Chisholm fell past the plate as the right shoe was jarred off and from his knees slapped a hand across the plate.
“He had dirt all over his face when I walked out there to get him. Looked like glitter on his face,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We were all kind of screaming.”
After he reached the dugout, Chisholm stretched out with his stockinged feet on the bench. He put on a fresh pair of socks and then his spikes, and Chisholm asked rookie Jasson Domínguez to tie the laces.
“They say he’s the best shoe tier,” Chisholm recalled in the postgame clubhouse. “I didn’t understand it until he actually did. It took me like a minute to take off my shoes just now.”
Baltimore led 2-1 in the eighth when Ben Rice singled leading off against Bryan Baker for his third hit. Giancarlo Stanton singled to put runners at the corners, and Paul Goldschmidt pinch ran for his fellow former MVP — the first pinch-running appearance of Goldschmidt’s big league career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Baker fell behind 3-0 in the count and left a belt-high fastball over the plate. Chisholm drove it 384 feet off the middle of the wall.
“I wasn’t going to swing if it wasn’t a fastball,” he said.
Goldschmidt, 37, slid in just ahead of Sánchez’s tag. Chisholm was a minor leaguer in Arizona’s system when Goldschmidt starred for the Diamondbacks.
“He was the guy that everybody really watched doing baserunning,” Chisholm said. “Even when I got to Miami, he was still the blueprint of how to run the bases.”
Goldschmidt took pride in his baserunning.
“It’s something that wasn’t secondary behind hitting and defense,” he said.
Chisholm took third on the throw and LeMahieu followed with a chopper to shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who threw home. Chisholm slid headfirst and was at first called out by umpire Jansen Visconti, who didn’t realize Sánchez dropped the ball as he applied the tag.
His first run, however, was the one that will live on in replays for the flying footwear.
“Go out there. Keep playing like that,” Stanton had told him. “You don’t need them.”
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