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Chisholm and Bell drive Miami soul train into playoffs

The Miami Marlins were competing in one of the toughest divisions this season, but they found a way to make it to the postseason and two of our MLBbro’s played a key role in making that happen.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.  and Josh Bell will be making their second postseason appearance and both will look to help the Marlins make a deep postseason run.

It came down to the end of the season for the Marlins to find out that they would be appearing in the postseason, and it wasn’t an easy task. The Marlins clinched a playoff berth for the fourth time in franchise history after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3.

Both Chisholm and Bell contributed to the team’s win. Chisholm hit his 19th home run of the season and Bell had a two-run double.

Chisholm’s 19 home run record is a new career high for the 25-year-old. The centerfielder loves playing in Miami and believes the team has a close bond on the field.

“I feel like we’re just the biggest family in the league,” Chisholm said in an article in the Times Union after the victory on Saturday. “I feel like nobody is as connected as us as a team. I feel like when someone gets going, everybody gets going. That’s the plan here and we’re just family and we’re coming in together.”

Having that team chemistry is very important and is a vital component for teams having success and winning titles. The Marlins went into that game against Pittsburgh with one thing on their mind.

“Before the game, we called it ‘Clinch Day’ and we weren’t expecting any other day to be Clinch Day except today,” Chisholm said. “And that’s what we did, and we handled it today.”

Chisholm has developed into a leader on this Marlins team. He’s a player who provides a lot of energy on and off the field. And this brother is young, too, so he has time to continue to develop and be a dominant player in the league for years to come.

Through 97 games, Chisholm is hitting .252 with 52 RBI and 22 stolen bases to go along with his 19 home runs.

Bell joined the Marlins this season and has delivered at the plate time after time, a big reason why the Marlins sought to get him. And now he’ll get a chance to do that in the postseason. 

When the Marlins clinched a playoff berth on Saturday, Bell got to experience that in a familiar place: From 2016 to 2020, Bell played in Pittsburgh and became a fan favorite there.

“Thought I’d celebrate here years and years ago,” Bell said on Saturday. “But just to be able to celebrate here now is icing on the cake.”

Bell brings that veteran leadership to the team. At any point during the game, he can change things with just one swing of the bat. Last season, Bell appeared in the postseason with the San Diego Padres and put together a solid stat line, hitting .250 with two home runs and five RBI through 10 games.

Chisholm has only appeared in one game in the postseason, which came in 2020. He went 1-for-3 that game with a double.

We’ll get a chance to see both players look to contribute in big ways during their Wild Card series against the Phillies, defending the National League pennant winners. 

The Marlins and the impact of their Black stars are one team you want to keep an eye on during the postseason.

The post Chisholm and Bell drive Miami soul train into playoffs appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here