Two kids fulfil big-league dreams
Lifelong friends among only nine Bahamians who have made it all the way to the top
We always go back, we always go home and talk to the kids and be like, `Bro, we're from the same place you are.' ” Jazz Chisholm Jr.
WASHINGTON — Miami Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Washington Nationals shortstop Lucius Fox met up by the third-base line during batting practice Wednesday afternoon. The two exchanged a few laughs before taking a selfie and going their separate ways.
The two lifelong friends from Nassau, Bahamas, started against each other Wednesday, the first time two Bahamians played against each other in a major league game since 1961. Only nine Bahamians have played in the majors.
“Just to do it with Jazz means a lot,” Fox said after the game. “We spoke about this moment from when we were kids when we started playing baseball.”
Wednesday's matchup was their first time facing off in the majors, but the scene was familiar for Chisholm Jr. and Fox. The two, both 24, met as seven-year-olds playing on rival teams in the Freedom Farm Little League in Nassau.
“He's just like a big brother to me,” Chisholm said about Fox. “The love I have for Lucius is just like anyone else who's my blood.”
Chisholm and Fox were the best players in their league growing up and their teams always faced off in the championship game. Hundreds of friends and family would come out to watch the games, trash talk would be exchanged between parents and bragging rights were on the line.
“I always knew he had a good lefty swing, even from a young age,” Fox said of Chisholm. “You could kind of see what he's doing now: He always liked to hit the ball out of the ballpark and he wasn't afraid to try.”
The teams split their championship game matchups but, to this day, Chisholm claims that Fox's teams cheated a few times; he claims the walk-off home runs when they were 9 and 10 were actually foul but the umpires missed the call. Fox rolled his eyes at the accusation.
The former rivals became friends, were eventually members of the 2015 international signing class and worked out together each off-season in their hometown while trying to crack a big league roster. Few baseball players from the Bahamas have got to the big stage: Outfielder Antoan Richardson cracked a roster in 2011, but before him, it had been nearly 30 years. Todd Isaacs, who played on Fox's team growing up, knew they'd both make it to the bigs.
“If you ever talk to both Lucius and Jazz, you could tell right away that they're both guys that don't take no for an answer,” Isaacs said. “They certainly believe in their ability to do anything that they put their minds to .... It wasn't a matter of being discouraged. It was a matter of: how are we going to create our own path to get to the major leagues? How are we going to make this work being from the Bahamas?”
Chisholm finally made his debut in 2020 and when he called Fox to tell him, Fox said “I felt like I was making my debut too because I knew the journey we both were on.” Chisholm said he had the same emotions earlier this year when Fox called him about making the Nationals' opening day roster.
Still early in their major league careers, both understand the magnitude of being the only two Bahamians in the big leagues. They've tried to give back to their communities in the process while encouraging more funding for the sport in hopes that there will be more players from their country after them.
They, along with Isaacs, have hosted the “Don't Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise” since 2018 and the event — where baseball players hit balls into the ocean — has grown in popularity. It's also drawn a number of majorleaguers to Nassau including Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette and New York Mets first baseman Dom Smith. They have also hosted a number of baseball clinics.
“I feel like, for us, it's super important,” Chisholm said. “Just to show the kids that anybody could do it. We always go back, we always go home and talk to the kids and be like, `Bro, we're from the same place you are.' ”
Wednesday night, Fox received a number of messages from friends and family back in the Bahamas who were watching. Fox said it means a lot for him to carry the responsibility of being one of nine, knowing that there are aspiring players at home watching. Is there any pressure that comes with that?
“I don't take it as pressure, I take it as pride,” Fox said. “I get a lot of support from the people back home. And just making it at this level is a big deal for us.”