Jazz Chisholm Jr. selected as MLB The Show 23 cover athlete

Jan 30, 2023 - 8:25 PM

MLB The Show, the preeminent Major League Baseball video game, is featuring Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the cover of its 2023 edition, as revealed on Monday afternoon.

No Marlins player had previously been selected as the cover athlete since the video game series began in 2006, with the only notable ex-Marlin being Miguel Cabrera (2014). Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani had the 2022 cover. The Marlins point out that he’s the first South Florida athlete to grace the cover of a USA video game since Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat. It probably goes without saying that Chisholm is also the first-ever Bahamian to receive this recognition.

Turning 25 years old on Wednesday, Chisholm is slightly younger than the typical cover athlete. He’s almost among the least-accomplished members of the fraternity. He has played only 205 MLB regular season games (producing 4.3 fWAR/4.9 bWAR). Though fans voted him the NL starting second baseman for the 2022 All-Star Game, he was unable to play in the exhibition—or in any games following the break—due to a stress fracture in his back. Now, the Marlins are attempting to convert him into a center fielder for the 2023 campaign.

Chisholm was already an unofficial ambassador for the game who has played it in his free time through the years. In 2022, he repped the Marlins in MLB The Show’s Faces of the Franchise series. I imagine that Chisholm’s relationship with the developers and his all-around magnetic appeal to young fans helped his cover athlete candidacy.

MLB The Show’s social media teases in the days leading up to the reveal strongly hinted that Chisholm would be the pick, with Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners being speculated as another possibility.

The game is available to play on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. Pre-ordering opens on Feb. 6.