The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IT was an historic weekend for Bahamian baseball as two of the sport’s young icons achieved a major milestone which highlighted the continued development of the sport.

When Jazz Chisholm Jr’s Miami Marlins hosted Antoan Richardson’s San Francisco Giants for a three-game series last weekend, it marked the first time a Bahamian player and a Bahamian coach shared the same field in a Major League Baseball game.

The Marlins got the best of the series, 2-1, but for Richardson, now serving as the first base coach of the Giants, the moment signalled the progression of Bahamian baseball.

“I think it’s exciting for baseball in the Bahamas. We have been tapping into this industry a little bit and I think there are bigger and better things to come,” he said.

“I think as we continue to invest more, I’m sure Jazz will be giving some input and I will be giving input on how to create this route to help guys get to this point quicker and faster. As we learn we will bring those lessons back to The Bahamas. We both now have experiences as players and with me, also being able to use my experience as a coach and having experience in the front office.”

Richardson was the sixth Bahamian player to be called up to the major leagues when he made his breakthrough in 2011 with the Atlanta Braves. Chisholm, the latest Bahamian major leaguer and number seven on the list, made his debut in 2020.

“I think this just elevates our opportunities. I’m really looking forward to doing some cool things in The Bahamas to make more of these moments realities for families and young people in The Bahamas. I think this is a cool moment but I don’t think it’s the last one, I think we will see almost more of these coming really soon in baseball. We have seen it in other sports and I think we will see it in more sports,” Richardson said.

“It’s just really gratifying I don’t have the words, my vocabulary is just not big enough to explain or express how I feel about this weekend and share the experience with Jazz. I’m really looking forward to next weekend now and to do it on our turf.”

The Giants will host the Marlins in a four-game series at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, April 22-25.

On the field, Chisholm continues his standout play that has created early buzz for National League Rookie of the Year consideration. His OPS of 1.126 currently ranks No.7 in the MLB. Chisholm hit .556 (5-9) over the course of the series and extended his hit streak to seven games.

In game one, he finished 2-3 and hit his third home run of the year in the Marlins’ 4-1 win Friday night at loanDepot park. In game two, he went 2-3 once again with two runs, including the game winner, driven in by Jorge Alfaro’s walk-off single in a 10-inning 7-6 win.

In yesterday’s finale, Chisholm finished 1-3 and much of the Marlins lineup struggled in a 1-0 loss. Miami totalled only four baserunners and lost two of them. Chisholm was thrown out trying to stretch a hit into a double in the fifth.

After he hit .161 in 21 games of his debut last season, Chisholm is now hitting .325 with a .451 OBP and slugging .675 with three home runs and six RBI.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly credited Chisholm for his plate discipline, particularly in Saturday’s extra inning thriller.

“Jazz’ at bat was incredible in the 10th drawing a walk and you can see he just seems calm. It’s impressive to be honest with you. From my standpoint you don’t want to blow this guy up to the point where he thinks he’s the next coming. You want this guy to continue to work. Watching the calmness in his at bats, the way he sees the ball is really incredible,” Mattingly said. “This guy sees the ball early, he quits early on pitches. It’s a trait that you don’t see a lot and that relaxed approach combined with a guy that sees the ball early and sees it easy, it’s a good combination to have.”