WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — As soon as Jazz Chisholm Jr. stepped off the New York Yankees’ team plane at Williamsport Regional Airport, a Little Leaguer from Paseo Verde Little League in Henderson, Nev., ran up to the third baseman to tell him that his best friend on the team was his biggest fan.
Russell McGee, Paseo Verde’s shortstop, waited until all his teammates had taken pictures and gotten autographs from Chisholm before telling him that he was his favorite MLB player. Chisholm responded by saying that his friend had already informed him of this and that he couldn’t wait to meet him. The two then sat next to each other on a 20-minute bus ride to the Little League World Series complex, where Chisholm learned that McGee wears a neck chain and No. 2 (his number with the Miami Marlins) because of him.
At the end of the bus ride, Chisholm had an epiphany. When he was a younger player, Yankees great CC Sabathia, Boston Red Sox first baseman Dominic Smith and Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford looked out for him. He said those three players treated him like a little brother, and he knew that once he established himself in the majors, he wanted to do the same for the next generation.
So, Chisholm told McGee, “I’m going to be your big brother from here on. … I’ve got you; just give me a call.”
“He’s just a bright-eyed kid,” Chisholm said of McGee. “He reminded me so much of myself when I was younger when I first got into professional baseball.
“Me and him were talking and I was like, ‘Man, I remember when JP, Dom and CC really made me their little brother and made sure I was good. Any time I called them, they would answer, even with CC just retiring around that time and being a Yankee great. Even with Dom Smith and JP, just having guys like that in your corner and as friends, it helps a lot.”
Chisholm and McGee exchanged numbers, and the new Yankee followed the young shortstop on all his social media platforms. When McGee and his teammates arrived at the Little League Classic, he texted Chisholm, who responded that he would come to greet him in the bleachers. Chisholm ended up spending several innings watching from the bleachers with his new little brother.
“I had a lot of fun, especially when I sat with Russell,” Chisholm said. “I sat with him for like three or four innings. It was just a lot of fun getting to react like a kid. I’m screaming at the guys on deck. I’m pointing at them. I did a Roll Call with the crowd. It was just reminding me of days of when I was in Little League and just meeting the guys that I’ve met in my life with the way they’ve taken care of me and seeing Russell out there. It just made me feel that way again.”
Chisholm was able to spend time in the crowd because he’s on the injured list with a left UCL sprain. He expects to miss just the 10 days allotted, but the Yankees haven’t committed to that timeline yet. He fielded grounders at third during warmups without any protection on his elbow, a potential sign that his injury isn’t too serious.
Since he wasn’t playing in Sunday’s game, Chisholm decided to make the most of his experience in Williamsport. He brought his camcorder to record the memories and started a Yankees Roll Call from the crowd. Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe noticed and did a stepback jumper in his direction, the same move Chisholm uses to acknowledge the Bleacher Creatures in the Bronx.
“I actually loved it,” Chisholm said of Volpe’s stepback. “I be screaming at him on the field like, ‘Volpe, do something else, man. I need something out of you!’ He did the stepback today. I loved it. Me and Russell were really getting into it with the Roll Call.
“I don’t know the last time I watched a game from the bleachers. It was sick. I wish I got to see more homers, but it was a lot of fun being out there with the guys, especially the guys that you know and love. Your guys are out there playing and you’re like, ‘Oh, you should have hit that.’ It was just a lot of fun.”
Chisholm said he’ll reunite with McGee in November when he hosts his Baseball Generations camp in Los Angeles. Before then, Chisholm plans to send McGee all the gear he needs to possibly help Nevada, the Mountain Region representative, win the Little League World Series.
While the Yankees may have been walked off and dropped a winnable series against the Tigers, Sunday’s game showed the Yankees and the 20 teams in the Little League World Series that there are moments in baseball bigger than any win or loss.
“I think what we did earlier just being able to mingle with some Little Leaguers here and see what baseball means to them and bring them some inspiration and hope, that’s still part of this game that I think is very meaningful for all of us,” Yankees closer Clay Holmes said.
NOTE: Here’s a video of Chisholm during an interviewed on ESPN on meeting Russell McGee:
