Marlins sensation Jazz Chisholm Jr. has continued to show glimpses of his impressive potential this season after an outstanding campaign in 2021.
But it turns out the rising star isn’t the only one in his family who knows how to steal the show.
After hitting a double to left field in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Mets, Chisholm wound his way around the bases before settling down and celebrating his hit. As cameras caught the 24-year-old dancing excitedly and waving his arms, cameras in the stands caught Chisholm’s grandmother cheering him on in much the same way.
While Chisholm may well have borrowed the move in honor of his grandmother, the salutary moment underscored the young standout’s close connection to the woman who taught him the game.
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As Chisholm explained in a 2021 interview with Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein, his childhood baseball idol wasn’t a Hall of Famer or former World Series champion, but Patricia Coakley, his 77-year-old grandmother. Chisholm said she learned the game from Coakley, a former amateur star and shortstop for the Bahamas national softball team in the 1980s, while spending weekends with her as a child growing up in Nassau, Bahamas.
“She watches the game with a lot of joy,” he told Apstein. “She needs to be put on the microphone.”
Judging by his rapid rise, Chisholm, the current leader in All-Star voting for NL second basemen, listened carefully and carefully to his grandmother’s guidance. And he continues to bear fruit.
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Source: www.si.com