The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN baseball circles, July 2 is known as the day when dreams come true and careers are solidified for international prospects chasing a spot on a Major League Baseball roster.

Those dreams became a reality for a trio of Bahamian prospects and Maximum Development Sports Academy members who signed MLB contracts with their prospective franchises yesterday.

Lucius Fox Jr, Jasrado Chisholm and Larry Alcime Jr were officially introduced as three of four Bahamian baseball players who have been signed during the 2015 international prospect period, joining Kyle Simmons who made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

Fox, the 6’2” 170-pound shortstop, was the most anticipated signing of the class, ranked as a top three international prospect.

Celebrating his 18th birthday, Fox signed a deal with the Giants with a signing bonus worth approximately $6 million.

When Fox reclassified as an international free agent in late April, he immediately became one of the most sought after prospects for this signing period.

“I want to thank God with blessing me with the talent and blessing me with the people he has put in my life thus far and I look forward to more blessings in the future. I’d like to thank my parents because they never told me no when it came to baseball. They saw I had a gift and any showcase or tryout that I wanted to attend, they found a way for me to get there,” Fox said. “I thank the Giants for seeing the talent in me. I hope to make it to San Francisco as soon as possible, help the ball clubs win some games and win a lot of World Series.

Fox, who was expected to be one of the top 50 selections in June’s draft, petitioned to be declared an international free agent when he moved back home this spring following a storied career at American Heritage High School in Florida.

“I want to thank Max D for embracing me while coming home since last year and helping me get better and also to all the various coaches that played an instrumental role in my life, I want to say thanks,” he said.

The Giants were so intent on winning the bidding war for Fox that the price of his signing bonus means the team will pay about $4 million in penalties and lose the ability to spend more than $300,000 on a single player for the next two international signing periods.

Jose Alou, area scout for the Giants, said his scouting team was attracted to what Fox can bring to the franchise both on and off the diamond.

“It’s a special day for Lucius, his family and for the Bahamas. It’s a great day. I saw Lucius play when he was attending American Heritage. It wasn’t hard to see this athletic kid with a big smile and all the talent in the world. Immediately we were drawn to his personality and we started following him,” he said. “It’s easy to love the ball player, but I think there’s a lot more in the man. I’m sure that fans in AT&T park in San Francisco are going to love this kid. We are all really excited from the top about the signing of Lucius. We’re really fortunate to have him.”

Chisholm, a versatile infielder, was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks organisation with a $200,000 signing bonus.

The 17-year-old came to Max D following the conclusion of his career at Life Prep in Wichita, Kansas.

The confident Chisholm talked about his humble beginnings in the game and said he hoped to serve as an inspiration for younger baseball players.

“I’d like to thank God for putting me in this position on this signing day. I’d like to thank the Arizona Diamondbacks for believing in me and for letting me pursue my dreams. From day one coming to Freedom Farm I’ve always wanted to be a big leaguer and now I have that opportunity. To the coaches at Max D, even before you even knew me you helped me, they were always there for me. Special thanks to coach Franklin Simmons who picked me up off the softball park at four years old. Coach Simmons had a practice with his ‘9-10’ team, he came and said ‘this kid has potential’ and I played 5 years of ‘9-10’ baseball,” he said. “I just want to be the stepping stone for younger players coming up, because through strength and determination, we can do anything. We are strong Bahamian people.”

Craig Shipley, special assistant to the Diamondbacks general manager, said the organisation was eager to see Chisholm’s development in the system.

“We are excited to add Jasrado to the D-backs organisation. We look forward to his development as a player and a person and we definitely hope to add more Bahamians in the future.

Max D director Geron Sands said it was a deserving honour for a hardworking player. “I have known Jas for quite some time. Since the age of eight or nine. His dream was always to play in the big leagues, and that dream is now one step closer to becoming a reality,” he said. “He is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the game. He is extremely hardworking with drive and great focus. It was a pleasure for me to coach ‘Jas’ and assist him in his development. We want to wish him nothing but the best, because he deserves it big time.”

At just 16-years-old, Alcime was the youngest of the group to sign during this period. The former student at St Augustine’s College competed at Max D’s Pro Day in February when he garnered attention from many scouts.

“I’d like to thank God for the countless blessings he has given me. I’d like to thank the Pittsburgh Pirates for giving me this opportunity to pursue my dream in professional baseball. I’d like to thank my parents for always pushing and supporting me. I’d like to thank my little sister, because like she said, I would not be at this point if she wasn’t outside helping me practice rolling the ball to me and I’d like to thank all my friends for the support when the days may have been a little rough and for helping me to keep pushing and working harder,” Alcime said. “Two years ago I didn’t believe I could be at this point, but any dream you have you can achieve it. Just trust in God and keep working toward it and you can achieve it.”

Alcime reached an agreement for a $350,000 bonus and became the second signing for the Pirates and area scout Rene Gayo.

“This young man fits the criteria we look for, if he didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Gayo said. “These kids are here because they’re gifted. He’s going to go compete with other guys that are also gifted. Just because you’re gifted doesn’t mean you’re going to make it. This is why I like the Bahamas, this is my third trip here and I have discovered there are people of high character here and that will be the difference in a lot of players. I signed two players from here this year and I plan on coming back in the future.”