MLB All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. didn’t hold back about how he felt his Miami Marlins were during his first three seasons, which he called “the worst.”
Chisholm made an appearance on The Pivot podcast with ex-NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, where he unloaded on how poor the Marlins were when it came to the team’s clubhouse chemistry.
One example he gave was a veteran player on the team — he didn’t name anyone throughout the interview — “cut up my cleats, poured milk on my cleats, said, ‘Those are trash.’”
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. #2 of the Miami Marlins reacts during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Two of the Wild Card Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 04, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
“Destroyed things I worked hard to do,” Chisholm added.
The 26-year-old is known for his flashy style of play, and that was apparent when he came up in 2020 for a short stint before becoming a full-time big leaguer in 2021.
But his appearance and style of play was something veterans on the team couldn’t stand, leading to a team meeting during his 2022 All-Star campaign.
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“They wanted to put me in a box, and it wasn’t happening,” Chisholm said about players he didn’t hang out with off the field. “‘The way he dresses coming to the field.’ ‘Oh he wears four chains on the field.’ ‘He doesn’t wear dress shoes on the team plane’.”
Chisholm mentions a “team captain” during the podcast, which many believe to be infielder Miguel Rojas, who played with the Marlins throughout Chisholm’s first three years before playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023.
“I was already a team leader without being called a team leader,” Chisholm said. “But the vets, you can’t be a team leader when you got guys in the clubhouse that’s been there nine, 10 years — even though they suck. They’ve been there for nine, 10 years, and the team calls them the team captain, but they’re not a good captain. They’re not a good person. You not even a good athlete at this point. You’re just here, and you’re bringing down the young guys who are supposed to be good.”
Chisholm gave another story about a top prospect making his first appearance in the big leagues, but the veterans on the team didn’t like the way he acted on the field either.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. #2 of the Miami Marlins celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home-run in the game against the Cincinnati Reds at loanDepot park on May 12, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images)
“I watched someone get called up to the big leagues, supposed to be like top three prospects on our team, right? He gets up there, hits a homer,” Chisholm recalled. “First or second at-bat, hits a homer. His next at-bat, he goes and does the Juan Soto shuffle. He’s a kid. His favorite player is Juan Soto. He just got to the big leagues. Tell me why he comes into the dugout after — he walks and comes around the bases — these vets sit on the side of him and starting yelling at him saying, ‘You’re not Juan Soto. You shouldn’t be doing that.’
“Bro, what do you mean? He’s having fun. We’re playing a f—ing kid’s game. That’s when I step in and say, ‘Y’all better back up off this boy, bro.’ This man is starting, he’s playing every day for us.”
As the Marlins enter 2024, Chisholm commended manager Skip Schumaker for changing the culture within the clubhouse. Schumaker took over for Don Mattingly last year, and Miami made its first playoff appearance since 2020, though they lost in the NL Wild Card.
“Our clubhouse now is so together,” Chisholm said. “…We don’t even see color in that clubhouse. From the top to the bottom, there’s not a color in that clubhouse.”
Chisholm enters his fifth MLB season in 2024 after putting together a .250/304/.457 slashline with 19 homers, 12 doubles and 51 RBI over 97 games last season.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. #2 of the Miami Marlins stands on first base during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on September 13, 2023. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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Injuries have played a role in Chisholm not staying on the field in the last two seasons, as he needs surgery to recover from turf toe in 2023 and dealt with a lower back strain and right knee meniscus surgery in 2022 that held him to 60 games.
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