Sheldon LongleySend an emailMay 31, 2022 234 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

In his second game back from hamstring tightness, Bahamian professional baseball player with the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB) Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr. was in his usual spot leadoff spot in the lineup, but came up empty in four plate appearances.

In afternoon baseball on Memorial Day in the United States, Chisholm finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout, bringing his batting average down to .271.

Chisholm is now hitless in his last nine at-bats and has just one hit in his last 18 plate appearances. He remains among the team leaders in a number of offensive categories, but has fallen off a bit, and is trying to re-find the groove that catapulted him among the league leaders offensively and had him regarded as one of the top young second basemen in the game.

Chisholm’s batting average has fallen off 33 points, from .304 to .271, in his last five games.

As a club, the Marlins are struggling as well, losing two straight, five of their last six and eight of their last 10 games. They gave up seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings yesterday, to fall to the Colorado Rockies, 7-1, at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. They will face the Rockies again tonight, and tomorrow.

The Marlins have dropped to fourth in the National League East Division standings with a 19-27 win/loss record – 11 and a half games behind the front-running New York Mets (32-17). The World Series Champions Braves are second in that division at 23-25 and the Philadelphia Phillies are third at 21-28. The Washington Nationals bring up the rear in that division with a 18-31 record.

On Memorial Day on Monday, Chisholm started the game by flying out to Rockies’ left fielder Sam Hilliard in the top of the first inning. In the top of the third, he grounded into a force out, and two innings later, he struck out on a foul tip. In his last at-bat, in the top of the eighth, Chisholm flew out to Rockies’ center fielder Yonathan Daza.

The Marlins scored their only run of the game on a towering home run by Jesús Sánchez in the top off the second inning. The 496-foot moonshot is listed as the longest home run in the majors for 2022 and is on record as the longest home run in the league since a 505-foot blast by Nomar Mazara with the Texas Rangers in 2019.

As for Chisholm, he is still having a breakout second season in the majors. About a week ago, he was pulled from the lineup, in a game against the Braves at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, suffering from tightness in his left hamstring. The injury proved not to be extreme, and Chisholm avoided any extended time on the injured list. He missed just four games.

The 24-year-old Bahamian is batting .271 with seven home runs, 27 RBIs (runs batted in) and 21 runs scored. He has an on-base percentage (OBP) of .320, a slugging percentage (SLG) of .541, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .861. Chisholm also has seven stolen bases.

Defensively, Chisholm has 60 putouts and 81 assists in 144 total chances this season. He has helped turn 17 double plays and has a fielding percentage of .979. The Marlins’ leadoff hitter is still well on his way to his first career MLB All-Star selection.

After their series with the Rockies, the Marlins will return to LoanDepot Park in Miami for four games against the San Francisco Giants. Bahamian Antoan Richardson, a former major leaguer, is a first-base coach with the Giants.