Aaron Boone sticks by ‘love’ for Jazz Chisholm despite occasional disagreements

Since the day Jazz Chisholm Jr. arrived with the Yankees last July during a series in Boston just ahead of the trade deadline, Aaron Boone has encouraged the player with an eclectic personality to be himself.

There is a lot that comes with that.

And while the manager has had to rein in a few things here or there with Chisholm, he has also established a strong relationship with him that has been one of the reasons he has flourished in pinstripes — even with some bumps along the way.

“I love it [managing Chisholm],” Boone said Thursday before the deciding Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Red Sox. “I love Jazz; I really do. It doesn’t mean we haven’t had some heart-to-hearts and some fun conversations from time to time. But he’s great. He’s obviously a great player. 

“I cherish my relationships with a lot of guys in there. Jazz is one of those that I can be unfiltered with him in how I challenge him and things. I think there’s a lot of mutual love there between he and I, and that allows us to endure tough moments that pop up.”

One of those came during this series, when Boone left Chisholm out of the lineup for Game 1 because he wanted more right-handed bats against ace lefty Garrett Crochet. Chisholm was not happy with the decision, making as much clear in a brief post-game interview with reporters after Tuesday’s loss, which he spent most of with his back turned to the cameras.

Boone, who met with Chisholm on Monday to explain that he was considering making the move, did not take issue with him being upset about it. He did not need him to be happy, Boone said before Game 2; he just needed him to “go play his tail off,” which is what Chisholm did to help force a Game 3, using his speed to score the winning run and making a few terrific defensive plays at second base.

“There was never a problem between me and Aaron Boone,” Chisholm said. “He’s been my manager all year, and I’ve stood behind him all year. We always have disagreements — I mean, I played third base this year, and we had a little bit of a disagreement on that.

“But at the end of the day, I always stand with Booney because he always understands where I come from. He knows I am a passionate player. He knows I wear my feelings on my sleeve. He knows I am there to compete.”

Chisholm’s personality did not always fit into the Marlins clubhouse with some veterans, which caused some issues that became public during his time there. Boone said the Yankees did their due diligence around the trade to talk to different people about it all, including Chisholm’s manager in Miami, former Yankee Don Mattingly.

“Mattingly said good things about him to me,” Boone said. “I’ve loved him. He’s an interesting cat. But he’s really thoughtful and engaging and smart. 

“But there’s a lot,” Boone added with a grin.

The 27-year-old Chisholm’s talent has never been in question, though, and the Yankees have been able to put him in a situation where it has come out more often than not. That led to a 30-30 season this year, becoming just the third Yankee in franchise history to do so, while being named an AL All-Star.

There are still times when Chisholm takes too big of a swing for the fences, makes a wild throw instead of eating the ball in an attempt to finish off a highlight-reel play or commits a costly baserunning miscue.

But then there are nights like Wednesday, with the season on the line, when he can also make sure you get to a Game 3 on Thursday.

“He loves to play,” Boone said. “He feels a responsibility to us, his teammates. And he and I have always been good. … He’s a gamer, and he likes the stage.”