WATCH: Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. gushes about his new "adopted little brother" he met on the bus
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been a Yankee for less than a month but the enigmatic slugger has already become a fan favorite. Chisholm Jr.'s interaction with a fan during the Little League Classic showed why he is such a popular figure among baseball faithful.
During the Little League Classic young baseball players get a chance to meet their favorite players and Russell McGee, a Little Leaguer from Paseo Verde Little League in Henderson, was one of those lucky fans.
McGee's best friend informed Jazz Chisholm Jr. that he was the young shortstop's favorite player and the Yankees slugger had a special surprise for his fan. The two shared a bus ride at Little League World Series complex.
During the broadcast on Sunday, Chisholm Jr. shared the bond he forged with the young fan during his bus ride.
"I kind of adopted a little brother here already," Chisholm Jr. said. "His name is Russell, Russell McGee. He is my guy. I talked to him a little bit on the bus."
"We talked all day and hung out on the bus. Like he was telling me about his journey and all the stuff he has been doing and I followed him on Instagram and now he is like my little brother."
The Yankees star was excited to talk about their interaction and also shared that he gifted one of his chains to McGee but the young fan returned it to the All-Star because he was afraid of losing it.
Chisholm Jr. also touched upon his heartfelt commitment to the Paseo Verde shortstop. He said:
"Me and my guy Russ man, we gonna be rocking. I'm gonna make sure he makes it to the big leagues one day and I'm gonna be fully behind his journey you know.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is returning the favor
MLB stars lending their support for young and upcoming players is not unheard of and in fact, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was also a youngster who received support from prominent major leaguers like CC Sabathia, Dominic Smith and J. P. Crawford.
“Me and him were talking and I was like, ‘Man, I remember when JP, Dom and CC really made me their little brother and made sure I was good. Any time I called them, they would answer, even with CC just retiring around that time and being a Yankee great. Even with Dom Smith and JP, just having guys like that in your corner and as friends, it helps a lot.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was not part of the Little League Classic as he is recovering from an elbow injury and was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday. However, he made most of his time while mixing up with the fans in the crowd.
Chisholm Jr. even started a roll call for his Yankees teammate Anthony Volpe during Sunday's game and it was noticed by Vople, who copied Chisholm's trademark stepback jumper to acknowledge the call.