The Show Notes #25: Addressing The Incorrect Perception of Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is an international superstar playing in one of the world’s most diverse cities, yet he has been flattened while being commodified as one of the most visible Black players in MLB

There are usually a handful of very productive MLB players in every generation who are viewed in a wide range of different ways for a number of reasons. Sometimes it’s the perception of their hitting style or acumen with the glove. Other times, it might be how a player interacts with teammates, opponents, coaches, umpires, reporters and the general public. Perhaps, it could be the player’s background if he is from the ever-growing foreign presence in MLB. While he’s the same age as me and hopefully has a lot of productive and uncontroversial years ahead of him, I think New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. is going to wind up being one of those players who will be the subject of passionate debates whenever he decides to hang up his cleats.

Born and raised in the Bahamian capital of Nassau, the 27-year-old inherited his passion for baseball from his maternal grandmother Patricia Coakley. Coakley was a shortstop for The Bahamas national team during the 1980s and played competitive softball until she was in her late 60s.[1] The eighth Bahamian to wear a MLB uniform, Chisholm Jr. is already the greatest Bahamian baseball player ever. Personally, I think he has a legitimate chance to be the second Anglophone Afro-Caribbean individual to reach Cooperstown after African-American-Bajan-Canadian starting pitcher Fergie Jenkins. The international aspects of Black Baseball Culture have been ignored and flattened, and the perception of Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the latest example of this troubling dynamic within Black Baseball Culture.

While he is one of MLB’s most visible Black players, the cultural congruency Chisholm Jr. brings to The Bronx as the most talented Anglophone Afro-Caribbean position player since Chili Davis’s retirement in 1999 has been overlooked. New York City has been the epicenter of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora since the mid-1920s, and I’ve yet to see anyone with access to Jazz talk to him about this fact. On the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of coverage and discussion about how his public appearances, charismatic personality, and sense of style fits in with New York City perfectly. If Black Baseball Culture is going to take steps forward, it has to make room for foreign-born players in MiLB and MLB who are willing to acknowledge their Blackness on record. Far too many African-Americans operate with the desire to be MLB’s token minority demographic, and this has directly affected how foreign-born Black players like Jazz Chisholm Jr. have been covered.[2]

In order to understand Chisholm Jr., you need to know where he is from and the unique Afro-Caribbean demographic that he belongs to. Less than 150 nautical miles Southeast of the state of Florida, The Bahamas archipelago was the congregation point for fleeing British Loyalists and their slaves after the American Revolutionary War’s conclusion. When the African slave trade was banned across the entire United Kingdom in 1807, the British Royal Navy aggressively confiscated African slaves from American and Spanish slave ships before granting them freedom in The Bahamas under an unilateral “search and seize” edict. It was also law for any African slave from the United States who step foot in The Bahamas to be manumitted.

These maritime policies set by the British out of spite and hypocritical moral superiority angered American enslavers as thousands of African-American slaves escaped and sought refuge in The Bahamas via the “Saltwater Railroad” during the early to mid 1800s. The Saltwater Railroad proved to be viable even with how little notoriety it received in comparison to the Underground Railroad, as groups of 30-100 slaves escaped to Bahamian archipelago regularly.[3] Afro-Bahamians began moving back to Florida in search of economic opportunities during the late 1800s, forming shared communities with African-Americans, Afro-Panamanians, and Haitians in the Sunshine State’s urban areas that mirrored the influx of Francophone, Hispanophone, and Anglophone Afro-Caribbean individuals to New York City’s African-American ethnic enclaves from the 1910s to the 1930s.[4][5][6][7][8]

The Bahamas has a rich yet young relationship with American batted ball sports that began in the early 20th century when baseball and softball were introduced to the island by sailors in the US Navy. There were also Bahamians and first generation Bahamian-Americans who had spent time playing baseball in Florida. Baseball gained traction slowly in the country as Bahamian Negro Leaguers like Ormond Simpson made a name for themselves during 1930s, but took off in popularity after an African-American multi-sport phenom named Jackie Robinson re-integrated MLB in 1947 and Bahamian cricket star turned shortstop Andre Rogers made his MLB debut in 1957.[9] From the 1960s to the 1980s, The Bahamas produced over 30 players who reached MiLB and a handful of MLB bench players such as Ed Armbrister of the Cincinnati Reds. The Bahamas currently has around over 25 active players in MiLB/MLB and Bahamian baseball players represent Great Britain in international competitions.[10] The World Baseball Classic’s success and baseball being brought back into the fold for the Summer Olympics has given international baseball renewed relevance. Chisholm Jr. is the type of player who has the talent and personality to singlehandedly expand baseball’s reach with success on its reemerging international stage.

“You have the scarcity of us on the field, and then if a guy shows any athleticism, he gets pushed to the outfield, so we're really competing against each other for the same jobs. We're not cultivated to be catchers, or starting pitchers, like Dave Stewart was. So when one of us makes it, another gets pushed out." - Cameron Maybin [11]

The misuse of Chisholm Jr. as a center fielder has played into the polarizing perception of his career up to this point. His return to the infield dirt on a full-time basis after being traded to the Yankees was a development I was hoping for, because he simply never got enough time to prove himself during his time in Miami. When he volunteered to move to the outfield after Miami traded for Luis Arráez, I was puzzled by the decision but then I remembered what Cameron Maybin said to Howard Bryant for a feature story by ESPN, and it clicked why the decision was made. He was not an incompetent infield defender by any means, but its clear Miami felt Chisholm Jr. was bad enough to move off the dirt entirely.

I believe Chisholm Jr. was trying to avoid the “talented troublemaker” label that is quickly applied to productive Black players who stand up for themselves or make demands of any kind during their careers. Vic Power, J.R. Richard, Frank Robinson, and Roberto Clemente are four historical examples of prominent Black players who wore the “talented troublemaker” label during their careers. A relevant example of this phenomenon is the saga which unfolded between Afro-Dominican Rafael Devers and the Red Sox front office that led to the first/third baseman’s departure to San Francisco. Chisholm Jr.’s dispute with former teammate Miguel Rojas Jr. over destroyed custom cleats led to his introduction into this archetype, and it a black cloud that will hover over his career until he retires to some degree, sadly.[12]

While there probably will not be a Black starting pitcher inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the next 25 years, talented individuals like Jazz Chisholm Jr. could be part of a substantial group of Black position players with a solid case for a bronze plaque in Cooperstown. I could see Jazz being viewed as one of the greatest offensive second basemen of all time if he stays healthy, and I feel like he will earn Eric Davis comparisons if he continues to struggle with nagging injuries for the rest of his career. Second basemen with his combination of power and speed from the left-handed batter’s box do not grow on trees, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees successfully extend him or allow him to explore free agency. If the latter happens, I will be watching closely to see how his market unfolds. Chisholm Jr. is a free agent in 2027, so the CBA expiration could have a huge impact on his willingness to sign an extension or the types of offers he receives from front offices.

References

[1] https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/05/07/jazz-chisholm-jr-grandmother-it-factor
[2] https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/torii-hunter-black-dominican-players-are-imposters
[3] https://www.jstor.org/stable/23795403?workspaceFolderId=c331bc83-e248-40ab-a12e-8d3ef52ad866&orderBy=custom_order&orderType=asc&index=5&seq=2
[4] https://www.jstor.org/stable/41849253?workspaceFolderId=c331bc83-e248-40ab-a12e-8d3ef52ad866&orderBy=custom_order&orderType=asc&index=6
[5] https://archive.org/details/blackmiamiintwen00dunn/page/392/mode/2up
[6] https://www.google.com/books/edition/Other_Immigrants/F-NNO9jGfIQC?hl=en
[7] https://www.jstor.org/stable/41849253
[8] https://www.jstor.org/stable/30147810
[9] https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/The_Bahamas
[10] https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/city_region/BM/
[11] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6236768/2025/03/27/miguel-rojas-jazz-chisholm-marlins-feud/#:~:text=exclusive%20feature%20with%C2%A0The%20Athletic
[12] https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29414410/the-exile-oakland-bruce-maxwell-birth-mlb-black-player-movement