Marlins Held Team Meeting to Criticize Jazz Chisholm

After a rocky debut in 2020, Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. has seen his career take off, putting up a career-best 133 OPS+ this season.

He's hit 10 home runs in only 45 games, putting him on pace to easily exceed last year's total of 18, while adding tremendous value on the bases. His exciting skill set and flashy playing style has also made him a popular player, given his marketable personality MLB has been targeting.

At age 24, Chisholm is well on his way to becoming a rising star in the league. His combination of power, above-average defense, and game-changing speed is rare and immensely valuable. In fact, Chisholm has been the best player on the Marlins this season according to Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement values.

That apparently hasn't been enough to stop other Marlins players from talking behind his back though.

According to a new report in the New York Post, Marlins manager Don Mattingly recently held a team meeting specifically to address the problem of Marlins players criticizing Chisholm:

But Chisholm turned out to be the subject for criticism in the team meeting, according to sources, as teammates apparently aren’t always as enamored as fans who love the style and sizzle.

He was also compared to former NBA star Dennis Rodman's tendency to be a "lightning rod:"

One person, who suggested teammates may be “jealous,” said, “Jazz is like Dennis Rodman. He will always be a lightning rod. But he works and plays hard."

It's odd that Chisholm, the best player on the team, would be the subject of a team meeting. Usually, players who have "style and sizzle" are targeted for criticism if their performance doesn't match their personalities.

But Chisholm can back up his celebrations and flashier playing style. If anything, given the Marlins' current 4th place seat in the NL East standings, maybe the rest of the team should start trying to be more like him and not worry so much about him having fun while playing the game.