The endorsements and opportunities just keep rolling in for Bahamian professional baseball player Jasrado 'Jazz' Chisholm Jr., as he signed with the Jordan brand that is owned by iconic basketball legend Michael Jordan. The announcement was made yesterday by Chisholm's agency, Roc Nation Sports.
It is a huge accomplishment for the Miami Marlins' center fielder, who is the second Bahamian behind the Charlotte Hornets' Kai Jones - who had a career night on Tuesday - to sign with the Jordan brand. He adds his name to the short list of Major League Baseball (MLB) players to sign with the brand. The announcement came on the eve of MLB Opening Day as the Marlins take on the New York Mets at 4.10 p.m. today.
"It's just iconic, as simple as that," the 25-year-old said. "It means everything for me. I'm always the guy who never wanted to do the same thing as other people. I always wanted to be one of a few, I mean not one of many. It's great that this is what I always wanted and this is what I'm glad to be a part of."
Earlier this year, 'MLB The Show 23' video game had Chisholm as their cover athlete. Ironically, the game dropped on Tuesday, a day before he became a part of the Jordan brand. MLB players who are with the Jordan brand inlcude the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, the Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, the Yankees' Aaron Hicks, the Philadelphia Phillies' Taijuan Walker and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts.
At his birthday celebration that the Bahamas Baseball Association (BBA) had for him in February, Chisholm spoke about his encounter with Jordan.
"I was at a tournament and Jordan was sneaking out of the back and I caught him. I had his picture and I asked him to sign it. He said, 'no, make me one day want to have your autograph.' That was me meeting Michael Jordan and I haven't met him since that day," Chisholm said.
The left-handed hitter is looking to improve his performance from the 60 games he played in last season. Last year, he had a batting average of .254 with 14 home runs, 45 RBIs (runs batted in) and 39 runs scored. He had 12 stolen bases, finished with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .325 and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .860. He was initially set to be out for a few weeks with a lower back strain, but, on July 21, after a CT (Computerized Tomography) scan, it was revealed that he had a stress fracture in his lower back and was forced to shut down his 2022 season.
The Bahamian was named as a starter for the MLB All-Star game for the National League last season but did not play due to the injury he sustained. He is the first Bahamian to be selected to an all-star team in MLB and the fifth player in Marlins history to be voted in as a starter.
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