The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the passing of Edison ‘Ed’ Armbrister, retired outfielder Antoan Richardson has now assumed the elder statesmanship of the Bahamian Major League baseball fraternity.

Now serving as the first Bahamian to be afforded the opportunity to coach a Major League team, Richardson said he likes the outlook of the future for the Bahamas with Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm leading a new generation as the starting second baseman for the Miami Marlins.

And for those who are interested, Richardson encouraged Bahamians to mark the dates of April 16-18 when his Giants will travel to Miami to take on Chisholm’s Marlins in a three-game series at Marlins Park.

“I’m really excited for Jazz. Opening day is going to be really special,” said Richardson, whose Giants will head on the road to play the Seattle Mariners in a three-game series from Thursday to Saturday, while Chisholm and the Marlins host the Tampa Bay Rays in their series on the same days. “It’s going to be the first time that we will have two Bahamians in action on opening day. I haven’t had that opportunity as a player, but I got to do it last year as a first year coach. This year, it will be two of us and it will be different with a little more fans in the stands.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Major League season was pushed back and fans were only allowed to view the games from a virtual standpoint.

While Richardson was locked in as San Francisco’s first base coach, Chisholm was fighting for a spot on Miami’s final roster. After juggling his time between shortstop and second base during the brief season, hampered by COVID-19, Marlins manager Don Mattingly told Chisholm before the club’s Grapefruit League finale on Sunday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium that he will be the starting second baseman this year.

“To have two Bahamians experiencing this right now is exciting,” Richardson said. “I’ve already the dates down in April when I go to see him. So I’m really looking forward to these meetings.

“I’m sure he will be looking to talk a little bit of trash. I know Jazz pretty well. So I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be cool. God willing, I hope we both can be healthy to experience it together.”

Drafted in 2005 by San Francisco out of Vanderbilt, Richardson didn’t crack the Major League lineup until 2011 with the Atlanta Braves.

After being released and playing in the minor league again, Richardson was called back up to MLB in 2014 for a brief sting with the New York Yankees before he retired with the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2016.

Today, he marvel at the feat of 23-year-old Chisholm, whom he passed the mantle on after the departure of former major leaguers Andre Rodgers, Tony Curry, Wentie Ford, Wilfred Culmer and now Ed Armbrister. “I think he’s a superstar or he has the opportunity to become a superstar,” said Richardson of Chisholm. “I’m just really rooting for him in that fashion and being a part of his resources when and if ever he needs it.

“I’m really excited for him and I think he will do really well for baseball and for the Bahamas in thed future.”

Although he can’t take any credit for his achievements right now, but Richardson said he remember when Chisholm was about 14 and he told him that he was going to make it to the Major League.

“He went to a Red Sox game and he reached out to me with some stuff and asked me to help him out with a couple of things,” Richardson recalled.

“He told me then that he was going to make it to the Major League and ever since that day, I was watching his climb and his passion come to life. I worked with him in the past, but I can’t take credit for what he has done right now.”

As for the rest of the Bahamian players in thed pipeline in minor league, Richardson said there’s an array of talent that is just waiting to get to the next level.

“I think I’ve said, we have a lot of talent out there, but I don’t think we’re seen the best of them yet, so that’s the scary part of this whole thing,” he said.

“Lucius Fox with the Royals have an opportunity to maybe make that happen this year if couple things fall into place and he could be up there. There’s also Trent Deveaux, Tahnaj Thomas, twin brothers D’Shawn and D’Vaughn Knowles and Kristian Robinson, just to name a few, so the Bahamas have a bright future in baseball.”

And as he continue his career as a coach, Richardson said he would like nothing better than to be on the same team with another Bahamian, but he’s leaving that up to God.

“I’m trusting God He has the ultimate plan for us,” Richardson said. “We are so little now right. We have to diversify the access and leave the mark as ambassadors for the island.”

As for his Giants, having completed their final practice on Monday, Richardson said he’s just looking ahead to the upcoming season as they continue to get better.

“We have a group of guys who are dedicated and committed to winning, so that is exciting,” he proclaimed. “So I’m excited to be a part of that.”

After his career was done, Richardson said he never envisioned that he would be back with the Giants, who first drafted him, to give him the opportunity to now coach.

“I never thought this would be the path, but I’m definitely enjoying it and I can continue to help some people, including Bahamians, along the way.”

Prior to securing the coaching job after his retirement, Richardson served as the Outfield Coordinator for the Toronto Bluejays in 2018.

A couple months later, he was hired away by the Giants as their Minor League Field Coordinator. The next year, he was promoted to their Major League staff as the First Base Coach.

The only thing left is serving as a manager, another first to be achieved by a Bahamian, but the 37-year-old Richardson said if it’s in God’s plan, he would gladly accept the role.

“If it’s the calling, then I want to be able and ready to answer the call,” he stressed. “But I think the most important thing right now is to be an ambassador for the Bahamas and impact the lives and create and impower more Bahamians in the sport.”

When Covid-19 struck last year, it prevented the World Baseball Classic to be played, but Richardson said if it’s back on the calendar this year, he will continue to work with Team England in ensuring that as many Bahamian players get an other opportunity to play until the Bahamas can field its own team.

And with the new national baseball stadium getting ready to be completed, Richardson said he will also like to work with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Bahamas Baseball Association to get the maximum out of the opportunities on both the local and international fronts.