The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Major League Baseball’s opening week of the 2022 season has arrived and three Bahamians are expected to be in action with their respective clubs.

Jazz Chisholm Jr is expected to be an opening day starter for the Miami Marlins when they face Antoan Richardson’s San Francisco Giants while Lucius Fox will be on an opening day roster for the first time in his career and could make his debut with the Washington Nationals.

The Giants will host the Marlins in the home opener Friday at 4:35pm at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California.

Fox and the Nationals will host the New York Mets at 4:05pm at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.

This will mark the second time the Marlins and Giants meet on Opening Day.

Last year, the Giants concluded the regular season 107-55 on the year and earned the team’s first division title since 2012. They advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2016 when they advanced to the NLDS before an elimination at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 107 wins for the Giants established a new franchise record and also clinched the home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The previous record was 106 wins in the 1904 season. The 2021 season represented a complete turnaround for the Giants who missed the postseason a year ago in the 2020 regular season finale.

In 2021, the Marlins finished 67-95, fourth in the National League East.

Chisholm’s first full season in Major League Baseball earned a postseason accolade as he was regonised as one of the top rookies in the sport.

The 23-year-old infielder was named to MLB Pipeline’s All-Rookie Second team.

Chisholm appeared in 124 games this season (91 at second base, 37 at shortstop) with 119 starts. He hit .248 with a .728 OPS, slugging .425 with 115 hits, 183 total bases, 70 runs scored, 20 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, 53 RBI and a team leading 23 stolen bases.

Despite missing 34 games with various ailments, including a hamstring strain, ankle strain, shoulder contusion and time on the COVID-19 reserve list, Chisholm finished just two home runs away from the vaunted milestone of 20 stolen bases and 20 home runs in his rookie season.

Chisholm, who was called up late in the COVID-19 shortened season, was an opening day starter and quickly became a fan favourite for his production and exuberant personality both on and off the field.

Fox was optioned to the Rochester Red Wings on March 28 and was preparing for opening day in the Triple-A East League when he received the call on Sunday to immediately return to Spring Training.

Manager Davey Martinez officially named Fox to the opening day roster on Tuesday.

When Chisholm’s Marlins hosted Richardson’s 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.