Miami Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. called his first three seasons in the major leagues "the worst three years" because of a toxic clubhouse situation during an appearance this week on The Pivot podcast, a show hosted by former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder.
Chisholm lamented how poor the Marlins' clubhouse environment was throughout his first several seasons in the majors. He explained that one spring training, an unnamed veteran player "cut up my cleats, poured milk on my cleats, said 'Those are trash.' Destroyed things I worked hard to do."
Chisholm, 26, is entering his fifth season at the big-league level. He's had his share of success to date, though he's also been limited by injuries at times. Indeed, Chisholm is a career .245/.304/.452 hitter (103 OPS+) who transitioned last year from the infield to center field. Chisholm made the 2022 All-Star Game and he was selected as the cover athlete for the 2023 edition of the MLB The Show video game.
Chisholm claimed that he had to come to the defense of a recent call-up, who other players criticized for mimicking Juan Soto's signature "shuffle" after he hit a home run, and that the Marlins' unofficial team captain would frequently run him down to manager Don Mattingly behind his back. Chisholm added that he was often criticized for trivial matters, resulting in a team meeting in the summer of 2022.
"A meeting with guys I don't hang out with," Chisholm explained. "They wanted to put me in a box and it wasn't happening. 'The way he dresses coming to the field.' 'Oh he wears four chains on the field.' 'He doesn't wear dress shoes on the team plane'."
It's notable that Chisholm credits second-year Marlins manager Skip Schumaker for helping turn the clubhouse culture around, saying that "our clubhouse now is so together. There's not a color in our clubhouse. We're together, bro. It's like you're playing with your family. Have fun and talk [expletive]."
