Keith Hernandez delivered the moment of the week, and not in a good way. The Mets broadcaster, doing his usual SNY work during the Yankees-Mets matchup, somehow managed to butcher Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s name in a way that has to be heard to be believed. The clip is already a permanent part of New York baseball folklore.
The setup. Chisholm, the 27-year-old Yankees second baseman, came up to bat in the middle innings. Hernandez, calling the at-bat from the SNY booth, decided to try a fresh pronunciation. The result was something that sounded like “Jazz Chiz-holm” with a hard z and an extra syllable that does not exist. The dropping booth went silent for a beat. Hernandez tried again. He made it worse.
The full clip has been making its way around baseball Twitter for two days now. Yankees fans love it. Mets fans are slightly less enthusiastic. The broadcast partner who had to cover for Hernandez handled it with grace, but the damage was done.
Here is the thing about Hernandez. He is one of the best analysts in the sport. The former first baseman has been calling Mets games since 1999 and has a Hall of Fame résumé as a player and a Cy Young vote-getter as a broadcaster. He does not miss the strategic stuff. He sees situations before anyone else in the booth. He is the reason a generation of Mets fans grew up loving baseball.
What he is not is a meticulous name pronouncer. Hernandez has a history of mangling names on air. He has gotten away with it for years because his analysis is so sharp that fans forgive the verbal trip-ups. But Jazz Chisholm is not a name you mangle. Chisholm is one of the most marketable young stars in the sport. He has a flagship Nike deal. He plays in New York. He has been on every All-Star ballot for the last three years.
The funnier part is the timing. Chisholm has had a strong start to 2026 with the Yankees. He is hitting .261 with 9 home runs and 14 stolen bases through the first 40 games. He has been a force at second base and a fan favorite at Yankee Stadium. His name is in box scores every day. Hernandez has had plenty of chances to get it right.
The Yankees side of the rivalry has been having fun with it. Aaron Judge, asked about the clip after the game, smiled and said he was sure Keith would figure it out eventually. Chisholm himself responded on social media with a series of laughing emojis and a “Keith, my guy, the J is silent on the second one” type message.
The broader takeaway is that the Subway Series is back to being interesting. The Yankees are 28-12 and atop the AL East. The Mets are 24-16 and in second place in the NL East. Both teams have weapons. Both teams have stars. Both teams have rotation questions to answer.
And both teams have to deal with Keith Hernandez calling games whether anyone likes it or not. That is the part fans tune in for. Hernandez is going to call your name something close to what your name is, he is going to drop a perfect read on a hit-and-run, and then he is going to move on like nothing happened.
This is part of the entertainment of the sport. The Jazz Chisholm clip will live on the internet forever. Hernandez will keep doing his thing. The Yankees and Mets will keep playing each other six times a year. New York baseball remains weird and wonderful.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
