Marlins' Jazz Chisholm Jr. wants to be MLB's Ja Morant
Miami Marlins' second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. certainly isn't one of the first players to come to mind when one thinks about the biggest stars in Major League Baseball.
That may change in 2023 and he certainly proved his chops with an All-Star game selection in 2022, but players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, and Bryce Harper — among others — certainly have greater star power right now.
Chisholm's star is on the rise, though. So much so that he'll be the cover athlete for MLB The Show 23, set to release in late March.
For what it's worth, Chisholm believes that his explosive playmaking ability and exciting style of play can help lead baseball into the future.
“Baseball has been in a cultural war for the last couple of years,” Chisholm, 25, told Sports Illustrated. “And I feel like this will be the way to show them that the culture is different now.”
Being the cover athlete on a majorly popular game is just step one in the plan to making baseball must-see TV.
“I want baseball to be that thing where people turn it on and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, this guy is on. Watch him do this. And he’s gonna do his Eurostep! He’s gonna hit a home run and do this little basketball shot around first base.’
“It’s like when you watch Ja Morant now in the NBA. Like, that’s who you want to watch. And he’s making it fun for everybody to watch. So that’s what I want to be.”
Chisholm's All-Star 2022 season was hampered by a stress fracture in his back that stole the last three months of the season from him.
He batted .254 with 14 home runs and a slugging percentage of .535 in 60 games played. He also had 12 stolen bases.
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