Miami Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. is really fast. According to Statcast, his average sprint speed of 28.6 feet per second is faster than 85% of players in the majors. But you don’t need advanced metrics to see how blazing his speed is. Just look at what he did on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Marlins were trailing 4–2 but had runners on first and second with nobody out. Miami manager Skip Schumaker instructed No. 7 hitter Otto López to lay down a sacrifice bunt, hoping to put two runners in scoring position with only one out.
Thanks to Chisholm’s speed and aggressiveness, it worked out way better than Schumaker could have hoped. López got the bunt down, Milwaukee catcher William Contreras fielded it and threw him out at first. Chisholm, who was on second, and Tim Anderson, who was on first, advanced. But Chisholm didn’t stop at third. No, he turned the corner and dived head-first into home just ahead of the throw.
Jazz makes things happen! #MarlinsBeisbol pic.twitter.com/VSGaBltB2E
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) May 22, 2024
The Marlins’ broadcast did a great job of showing how Chisholm was able to score on the play. Yes, he’s ridiculously fast, but he also got a great secondary lead when the pitcher began his motion and took off immediately when he saw that López successfully got the bunt down. His smart baserunning put him in a position to use his elite speed to put a run on the board.
