It’s been a tough season for the Miami Marlins, who at 64-87 are officially eliminated from playoff contention. Infielder Jazz Chisholm, however, has brought Miami energy despite its disappointing run with antics such as the eurostepping to home plate.
Nationals pitcher Josh Rogers, whose team is two games behind Miami for last in the NL East, decided to give Chisholm a taste of his own medicine. The 26-year-old lefty attempted — this being the operative word — a eurostep after striking Chisholm out Tuesday.
The form on Rogers’ eurostep was suspect at best, but it still provides payback for Chisholm hitting that same baseketball move after hitting a home run against the Nats on Monday.
Rogers and Chisholm shared no ill will after their competing eurosteps, even complimenting each other on Twitter after the game. Chisholm wrote he “loved” Rogers’ retort but admitted it may cause him to look for another celebration.
Chisholm, who’s batting .252 over his first full major-league season at age 23, has eurostepped to home plate numerous times this season. Rogers wasn’t the only to take notice, too, as Boston Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo copied the move — and credited Chisholm — in June.
Nats manager Davey Martinez wasn’t entirely receptive to Rogers’ eurostep. The 56-year-old skipper told reporters “when you do stuff like that, you better get outs.” Rogers’ form didn’t help matters, though, as Martinez said he saw Marlins players huddling over their iPads to laugh over Rogers’ move during Tuesday’s game.
“He’s a different cat, and he beats to a different drum, but I love it,” Martinez said of Rogers, who’s posted a 2.16 ERA over four games this season. “Like I said, he goes out there and he competes, and he keeps everybody on their toes.”
Rogers may know how to keep others on their toes, but aligning his own to eurostep properly may take a bit more practice.
