'That's officially my little brother': Jazz, Little Leaguer bond for life

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Hours before any of the action transpired between the chalked white lines of the Little League Classic, Jazz Chisholm Jr. had ambled from the Yankees’ charter jet to the runway at Williamsport Regional Airport, signing dozens of autographs and posing for selfies along the way.

Occupying a vacant seat by the right windows of a shuttle bus, the Yankees’ infielder-outfielder eyed a youngster by his side, offering his name. No introduction was necessary, as Russell McGee informed Chisholm, telling him: “You’re my favorite player.” Chisholm felt his heart leap; as they continued to converse, he began to feel as though he’d met a little brother.

“He’s just a bright-eyed kid. He reminded me so much of myself when I was younger,” Chisholm said.

That wholesome moment and the interactions that followed will serve as an indelible memory from the Yankees’ whirlwind visit to Pennsylvania’s Lycoming County, a day capped by a bittersweet 3-2 loss to the Tigers in 10 innings. The Yanks stood one out from victory before Clay Holmes was tagged with his Major League-leading 10th blown save.

“Look, anytime you lose, it sucks,” said manager Aaron Boone. “It’s hard traveling home now and you’re right there, ready to grab two out of three on a weekend where you didn’t score a lot of runs. That’s part of the game, part of the grind; that’s the tough part of it. But there’s also memories of the experience and getting to be here. You try to keep that perspective, too.”

Currently on the injured list with a left elbow sprain, Chisholm might have enjoyed the Yankees’ visit more than anyone. His 20-minute chat with McGee, a pitcher/infielder on the Mountain Region club from Henderson, Nev., formed an immediate bond -- one that Chisholm felt inspired to maintain when the bus arrived at the Little League International Complex.

“When I first got into professional baseball, CC [Sabathia] made me like his little brother at the end of his career, when he was just retired,” Chisholm said. “Dom Smith, J.P. Crawford, guys like that; they’ve always been taking care of me. In my mind, we were talking and I was thinking, ‘They made sure I was good. Anytime I called them, they would answer.’ Having guys like that in your corner and as friends, it helps a lot.”

As Giancarlo Stanton entertained youngsters one row back and Aaron Judge did the same two behind them, Chisholm promised to follow McGee on Instagram and offered his cell phone number, telling the youngster that he would help him realize his dreams of making it to the Majors. McGee gleefully accepted, wasting little time testing the mentorship connection.

As the Yankees went through their warmups on the big diamond at Journey Bank Ballpark, Chisholm’s phone was pinged by a text message.

“You at the game? We’re about to be on the field,” McGee texted.

“Where you at?” Chisholm tapped back.

“In the bleachers,” McGee replied.

Chisholm chatted for a half inning on the ESPN broadcast, then decided to spend more time with his new pal, sitting together in the stands as the Yankees and Tigers played on.

“It really made me cling to him,” Chisholm said. “[McGee said], ‘Bro, I do this because of you. My number is 2 because of you.’ When it hits your heart, there’s nothing else you can do but just follow your heart.”

There had not been much action for the pair to track early in the contest, with Chisholm and the Mountain team cheering as Gleyber Torres dashed home to score the game’s first run on Tarik Skubal’s sixth-inning wild pitch -- a play like many the Little Leaguers could expect to see in their own tournament.

One inning prior, Chisholm had cheered along with starter Marcus Stroman as the Yanks executed a flawless 8-6-2 relay on Parker Meadows’ double, with Judge feeding a strike to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who fired home to catcher Jose Trevino in cutting down Jace Jung to keep the game in a scoreless tie.

“It was just a lot of fun, reacting like a kid, screaming at the guys on deck and pointing at them,” Chisholm said.

At one point, Chisholm and McGee even participated in a “roll call,” successfully garnering Volpe’s attention at shortstop. Throughout their chat, baseball was a natural mainstay, but Chisholm sensed a connection had been made deeper than the game -- and one that would last beyond these nine innings.

“That’s officially my little brother,” Chisholm said.