Yankees fans will love Jazz Chisholm refuting Hal Steinbrenner's Dodgers comments

Jazz Chisholm's childhood idol may have been Chip Skylark from Nickelodeon's "Fairly Oddparents" but the New York Yankees slugger doesn't mess around when it comes to expectations. He was among the loudest last year, asserting the Bombers were going to win the World Series.

Though they didn't, his energy was not ignored among Yankees fans. Most loved the fact he was peddling that type of confidence, even though his postseason performance didn't back it up. His time will come. It's important to remember he was learning third base on the fly during the second half of 2024 and had to continue playing the position for the 14 highest-stakes games of the season.

There will be no excuses for Chisholm in 2025 as he returns to second base after a half-season experiencing the pressure in the Bronx. The good news is that his confidence hasn't wavered, and he recently had comments that refuted what owner Hal Steinbrenner said about the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this offseason.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic (subscription required) spoke to a number of Yankees players about New York no longer being considered the "Evil Empire" after Steinbrenner said it's "the Dodgers vs. everybody else" when it comes to spending in free agency. Anthony Volpe disagreed and echoed that there was a standard to uphold based on the organization's history. Folks around the league weren't ready to write the Yankees off, either, including Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

But Chisholm's comments, while pedestrian, laid the hammer down when it came to addressing whatever the new "perceived" league landscape is. Here's how the conversation went down between Stark and Chisholm.

Chisholm: “The Yankees have always been the Evil Empire.”

Stark: “Not anymore. You’re off the hook. The Yankees are just a normal franchise now. Does it feel like that’s a good thing or a strange thing?”

Chisholm: “That’s a strange thing. I don’t think the Yankees are a normal empire. And I don’t think our owner should say the Yankees are just a normal team, you know? I mean, we’re still the Yankees. We still have the history. … So I would rather have the mindset of thinking that we’re still the Evil Empire, even if we’re not. I still love that mindset, because that means that we’re still on top of everybody. I like being at the top. Why wouldn’t I want to be at the top?”

Is Yankees' Jazz Chisholm correct about Evil Empire status?

Again, this is coming from an outsider in Chisholm, who played his entire career with the Miami Marlins up until July of 2024. The incumbent Yankees players who have been with the organization since 2017-2020 hardly have this attitude. They're not very outspoken. They're not assertive. They don't respond to criticism well. They hardly ever respond to distinct challenges and callouts from their rivals.

Perhaps Chisholm and the up-and-coming crop of young Yankees can change that. Volpe's mindset has always been one fans have admired because of how he values the pinstripes and history. Maybe Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez will have something to say about setting a new tone, too.

But with what Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman have said over the last year or so, coupled with a lack of vocalization from Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole, a new era of swagger and some degree of cockiness that can be backed up will do the Yankees good, with the Dodgers officially surpassing them in more ways than one.