Miami Marlins preparing for upcoming 2023-24 MLB season
MIAMI - As the Miami Marlins get ready for another season, they've been out in the community making a big push to get South Florida excited for baseball.
New manager Skip Schumaker got his first introduction to the area at a community newspaper event at Casa Cuba in south Miami.
"It's a baseball community, it really is and to try and bring that fan base into loanDepot Park, it's going to be amazing. To get them excited. There are some really fun players to watch. Not every team has a Jazz (Chisholm) and not every team has a Sandy (Alcantara)," said Schumaker.
And not every team has a local legend on the coaching staff either.
Schumaker's right-hand man in his rookie season as a manager will be his long-time friend, former University of Miami Hurricane and local standout, Jon Jay.
Jay was met with loud applause at Wednesday's event.
"I didn't know who I hired. I'm finding out more and more every day what kind of legend he is around here, but it's not surprising to me," Schumaker joked.
Jay has been in Schumaker's ear about life in Miami and believes Schumaker's personality will mesh well with his new fanbase.
"Skip is a hard-working guy, and this is a hard-working community, so they're going to relate to him right away. He knows how to handle himself, he's been here plenty and I'm looking forward to him bringing that culture here," he said.
Jay is speaking from experience.
He said as a player, Schumaker helped him develop and mentor him into a big leaguer.
"The same way he was as a mentor and as a player, he's my mentor as a coach now. I'm looking forward to this opportunity I got now with Skip and the Marlins."
They were teammates in St. Louis, winning a World Series in 2011 with the Cardinals, and have the trust a manager and a first base coach need.
When it was announced that their star second baseman Jazz Chisholm would be moving to centerfield this year, Schumaker asked Jay to lead that transition.
"When I hired him, he didn't know i was going to send him Jazz," said Schumaker.
"He's getting a premier athlete and I can't imagine someone other than Jon Jay to help him out. I didn't care who it was. I hired the right guy for that position for Jazz. They've built a relationship already and coaching is all about trust."
Jay added that Chisholm "wanted to make the change for the better of the team and that's been his attitude every day we've been working. We're correcting little things. We want to get that gold glove. We're going to help him do that and he's very receptive."
