Plenty of Miami Marlins have had All-Star worthy seasons, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is having another one. But his 2022 campaign stands out above the rest.
Voting for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game is about get underway, and as many as three Miami Marlins should end up playing in the Midsummer Classic.
Miami sending multiple players is nothing new, nor is the idea of the best players in the ballpark wearing Marlins colors. Yet precious few Miami Marlins have been voted into the game as starters … even if they deserved it. Gary Sheffield, Luis Castillo, and one or two Marlins catchers have all authored seasons that would have easily earned them a starting spot … if only they played for an NL Central team, and that’s just to name a few.
Which brings us to Jazz Chisholm Jr., and the All-Star campaign that could prove a first in the history in the franchise.
Certainly, Chisholm is enjoying a career season, and is presently on pace for the team’s first 20/20 season since Hanley Ramirez in 2010. His 2.0 WAR mark trails only the Cardinals’ Tommy Edman in all of baseball for WAR at his position. Injuries have slowed his production of late, but he also just racked up a two-homer game just in time for the start of voting. So there’s a good chance casual fans will forget the past couple weeks when filling out those initial ballots. In any event, talent and 2022 production alone give him a fighting chance to make the short list of Miami Marlins All-Star starters.
However, that’s not what makes the 2022 Chisholm campaign potentially unique. What makes it unique is that the vote might not even be close.
Edman might have a significant edge in WAR, but being an All-Star starter is much more popularity contest than meritocracy. And if we’re talking Q-score? Chisholm blows Edman out of the water. Chisholm has become one of the bright young faces of the modern game, whereas Edman has much more of a lunch pail appeal. He’s very St. Louis. Jazz, on the other hand, told a critic on Twitter to “Drill Ya Mama.” The resulting t-shirt from that exchange is available for sale.
Brash and bold, he’s popular in a way arguably no Marlins hitter has ever been. Indeed, in a way only a few players in baseball are at a time. So much so that he might get voted in … just because he’s Jazz Chisholm Jr., irrespective of what else he does at the plate between now and the All-Star selection show.
That kind of thing is commonplace in some cities, for some fanbases. For the Miami Marlins though? It’s a welcome change, and a first.