MIAMI — What a great night it was this past Saturday at Loan Depot
park for a matchup between the Mets and Marlins. The second of a three
game set.
It was a Bahamian Heritage Night and Marlins star Jazz Chisholm Jr.
had damn near the entire family in the building for the event. The
team even provided fans with their Jazz Chisolm bobblehead and local
group Bahamas Junkanoo Revue Inc., a performance group based in Miami,
contributed to the festive atmosphere by putting on a show pregame.
The night ended with a 5-3 loss in front of a host of New York
transplants but who was paying attention.
All of my focus was on the Bahamas delegation in the building. Which
included the Bahamas Baseball Federation and president Sam E Rodgers
and public relations officer Marcellus Hall. The Bahamas Minister of
Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg was also in attendance.
Bahamian flags were all over the ballpark, Marlin fans joined in with
their neighbors from the islands and the atmosphere felt like more of
a concert than a ballgame. Speaking of a concert, dynamic reggaeton
star Daddy Yankee was in the building.
The latest numbers up to press time saw Jazz as the leading vote
getter in week’s All-Star Game ballot update, he leads all National
League second basemen in votes. Plus he is one of only three players
in the Majors with at least 12 homers and 12 stolen bases. Jazzmania
has officially been launched In Miami and Bahamas contingent of
Marlins and Jazz fans were here for all of it.
Jazz himself did not disappoint as he doubled in the fifth against
Mets righty Chris Bassitt. Looking up at the big screen as he pulled
up at second base, Chisholm saw his Grandma Pat, who taught him the
sport of baseball, doing the now popular wide wheel celebration.
After the game Jazz posed for pics with fans and celebrated with
family members. Even though the Marlins lost a 5-3 nod it helped being
surrounded by so much love from the fans and family members.
Made up of nearly 700 islands and cays, the Bahamas is located on the
northwestern edge of the West Indies. Formerly a British Colony, it
became an independent country within the Commonwealth in 1973. The
Bahamas stretches more than 500 miles southeast to northwest, and lies
about 60 miles off the coast of Florida and 50 from Cuba. With a
population nearing 400,000, the majority resides in the capital of
Nassau, which lies on New Providence Island.
