MIAMI (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Miami Marlins’ Euro-stepping, home-run blasting all-star, has goals beyond his impressive stats. With every stolen base and acrobatic catch, Chisholm hopes to have an impact on the next generation of players.
“I had Ken Griffey Jr., who was a real idol to a lot of guys all over,” Chisholm said in a video interview with The Associated Press. “Not just to baseball fans. He was an idol to basketball players, football players, guys in every sport, and that’s how I want to be too. Not just known as a baseball player but just known as an athlete that everybody can look up to.”
Chisholm, 24, is well on his way to having that kind of influence after he was revealed Monday as the cover athlete for Sony’s MLB The Show 2023 video game.
“As a kid, I always wanted to be on the cover of MLB the Show,” Chisholm said. “So it means almost just like winning the MVP in a sense. You get to live out your childhood dream.”
Chisholm, an avid video game player, has played The Show since David Ortiz’s 2006 cover on the first edition. Chisholm is the first Marlins player to appear on a cover of the American version of the game, but he joins a host of athletes across Miami sports on major video game covers.
Shaquille O’Neal has appeared on two main NBA 2K covers for the Heat, joining LeBron James who appeared on one for Miami. O’Neal and Dwayne Wade each appeared on one legend edition cover as well. Wei-Yin Chen, who pitched for the Marlins from 2016-2019, was The Show’s cover athlete for the Taiwanese version in 2016 and 2017 with the Marlins. The NHL 97 video game cover featured goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, who played for the Panthers from 1993-1998.
Chisholm is known as much for his style — from his colorful hair to his chains and sunglasses — as his…