Jazz Chisholm Backs Yankee Teammate's MVP Case

Jazz Chisholm spoke out against Stephen A. Smith's attempts to downplay New York Yankees teammate Aaron Judge's MVP case.

Jul 30, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees third base Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) celebrates with outfielder Aaron Judge (99) after hitting a three RBI home run during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen A. Smith's comments about Aaron Judge's MVP case struck a wrong chord with New York Yankees teammate Jazz Chisholm.

Smith, the Bronx native known for his daily rants on the ESPN family of networks, targeted Judge's case for American League MVP this week on the debate program "First Take." The Worldwide Leader commentator claimed that Judge's gargantuan numbers come in large thanks to his proximity to fellow All-Star Juan Soto in the Yankee batting order.

Smith erroneously claimed that Soto bats behind Judge, though no Yankee lineup has featured such a set-up this season. In the eyes of many other analysts, Judge is closing in on a second AL MVP title to join the one he earned in 2022.

Though lacking a vote in the proceedings, Chisholm stepped in on X, chastising Smith for not using the same argument against Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.

"Ohtani also has two MVP's behind him," Chisholm said, tagging Smith's account in his response. "So that’s irrelevant sir!!"

Ohtani's signing wirg the the Dodgers allowed him to bat in front of superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who previously earned MVP honors in 2018 and 2020 respectively. The literally valuable trio are frequently linked in Dodger lineups and they've likewise led Los Angeles to a division lead, just like Judge has done in the Bronx.

Entering Friday, Judge leads the league in several major categories, including home runs (51), runs batted in (123), and on-base percentage (.467). While that's not enough to convince Smith, it's more than enough to land the support of others, even if Chisholm's hypothetical vote was likely spoken for a long time ago.

Judge's next case to improve his MVP odds lands on Friday night when the Yankees open a home series against the St. Louis Cardinals (7:05 p.m. ET, YES).