Yankees get to LA courtesy of their Game 3 starter's dad

LOS ANGELES -- Clarke Schmidt will have the ball when the World Series shifts venues back to New York for Game 3 on Monday night, and his dad has already received a starting nod during this Fall Classic.

Dwight Schmidt, a veteran Delta Air Lines pilot of more than 20 years, was selected to be at the controls for one of the team’s charter flights to the West Coast. The elder Schmidt guided the friends and family plane from Newark, N.J., to Burbank, Calif.

“Everybody has been reaching out about what a good pilot he was,” Schmidt said on Thursday, as the Yankees and Dodgers worked out at Dodger Stadium. “I’m glad everybody had a good time and made it here safely.”

Schmidt said that his whole family was planning to travel to California for the first two World Series games, so when Delta offered the surprise assignment, it “actually worked out perfect -- he flew out here, and he’s going to fly them back to New York as well.”

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In August 2023, Dwight Schmidt had the opportunity to fly the Yankees’ charter jet to Tampa, Fla., for a series against the Rays.

“It’s just different when you’re able to do something in my profession to help them out in their profession,” Dwight Schmidt said then. “It was a magical experience. It was absolutely one of the most fun things I’ve gotten to do.”

Schmidt will follow Carlos Rodón in the Yankees’ rotation, as the left-hander said he has been selected to start Saturday’s World Series Game 2.

“It’s something that I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, pretending in the backyard,” Rodón said. “I’ve pitched in Dodger Stadium before. I think it’s going to be similar to being in a Giants jersey; a little louder, obviously a lot more on the games. I think it’s going to be a fun atmosphere.”

Heart of change
Yes, Tommy Kahnle will eventually throw a pitch that isn’t a changeup -- or at least, so he says. The right-hander has thrown 48 consecutive changeups dating back to Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against the Guardians.

“I would say it’s just being in the moment and sticking with my strength,” Kahnle said. “If you’re going to beat me, you’re going to have to beat me with the changeup.”

The formula has worked. Kahnle tossed four scoreless innings over three appearances in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the ALCS, limiting Cleveland to three hits. He said that he only once shook off a suggestion, which was for a slider.

“I knew it was a lot, because I was thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think I threw a single fastball in any of those outings.’ But what are you going to do?” Kahnle said. “It’s always going to be my bread and butter. I know I’m going to have to make some adjustments, because I think these guys know me very well, and I know them very well.”

Expectations realized
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has not been shy about his belief in this Yankees club, forecasting that they would advance past the Royals and Guardians. It hardly made him a popular figure in opposing parks, especially Kansas City, but he has been proven correct.

“This is what I expected, I’m not going to lie,” Chisholm said. “Coming to this team [in July], coming behind [Aaron] Judge and [Giancarlo] Stanton and these guys, I got here and they said they wanted to go to the World Series. I’m like, ‘I’m willing to help you guys, let’s do it.’ We’re here now, and so now we’ve just got to finish the job.”

Chisholm recounted a conversation he had with Judge early in his Yankees tenure that outlined the expectations.

“This is what we’ve all been talking about since the first day I got here,” Chisholm said. “I talked to Judge and he was just like, ‘Bro, I can’t wait until you go out there and help us win the World Series.’ … That’s what I like about these guys. We’re all in to win the World Series. We’re not here to go win a pennant and not here to get to the World Series. We’re all here to win it.”