GREENACRES − The folding chairs were in tow, hot dogs were on the grill, and rally cries echoed from the dugouts on Monday. The spring sports season is officially back for Palm Beach County high school teams, and this year's was rung in by a special grand marshal.

Fans who gathered at John I. Leonard High School for the Lancers' preseason softball tournament were treated to a visit from Jazz Chisholm, Jr. of the Miami Marlins. The shortstop and centerfielder threw the first pitch of the year for Leonard's game against Cardinal Newman.

"In 2020 I used to come out here and help a couple of my friends that went to school out here and ever since then, we had a little bit of a connection and I've always felt like giving back and helping them," Chisholm said.

"They've always supported me, too."

Jazz Chisholm, Jr. stays for it all

The double-header day started with a game between Forest Hill and Atlantic, and both matchups embodied what the preseason is all about. Forest Hill came back from trailing 3-5 for a 17-5 victory and Newman won 17-1. Yet, there was little sourness on the losing side of the ball for Atlantic and Leonard, both welcoming new starters to the circle in sophomore Ava Shapiro for the Eagles and senior Bryanna Ariza Mercedes for the Lancers.

Atlantic coach Mario Martinez told discouraged players that games like that against Forest Hill and an unstoppable senior shortstop Sabrina Diaz "are not about win or lose."

"This is about how much experience we take into tomorrow," Martinez said.

Leonard coach Kevin Reel gave the Lancers in a similar message:

"Girls, this is the preseason. It's time to let loose and have fun."

As the Crusaders ran up the scoreboard to 12 unanswered runs, about two hours after his ceremonial first pitch, Chisholm was still standing by Leonard's dugout, letting loose and having fun himself around the diamond where his love for baseball began.

The All Star, born in Nassau, inherited his athletic skills from his grandmother, Patricia Coakley, better known to Chisholm as "Grammy Pat," who was a former star infielder for the Bahamian national softball team in the 1980s.

Miami Marlins All-Star has roots in Palm Beach County

A crowd of selfie-ready parents, Leonard student-athletes, and knee-high youngsters met Chisholm at the field gate after his inaugural throw to Lancer junior Arianna Sheerer.

"How'd y'all know I was coming?" Chisholm laughed.

The Sharpies, hats, and baseballs kept coming. Even cases for MLB The Show '23, the video game that bears Chisholm on the cover tipping his cap with a wide smile, yanking a diamond-drenched chain.

However, Chisholm showed no signs of being in a rush to leave.

"You always want to give back to the communities that support you, so you come out here and you see how excited the kids get and they want to take pictures, they want to do autographs," Chisholm said.

He was taking in what it was like to be back with the youth of Palm Beach County, where he spent his childhood before making the move to Wichita, Kansas to attend boarding school at Life Prep Academy at the age of 12.

Chisholm spoke like a true local.

"I grew up in Riviera Beach, right off of Blue Heron and Congress," he said. "My parents and my grandparents and my uncles live all the way over there. I was always playing around in the street, but I never got to play team sports here."

"It's a lot of fun to come back and see the kids from where I'm from."

Chisholm shares his Super Bowl pick, secret hobbies, and more with youngsters

Not only did Chisholm sign every single object that came his way. He stayed for every single question imaginable after and then some.

"How's pro ball going for you?"

"I mean I've been hurt every year," Chisholm said. The 26 year-old looked good on foot in the months following his October surgery for a lingering turf toe injury sustained in a game against the Cincinnati Reds last May, and he gave reassurance about his comeback in centerfield for the 2024 season.

"But I'll still be a superstar, so I'm chilling," he said. Last year, Chisholm batted .250, scoring 50 runs on 88 hits with 51 RBIs and 19 home runs in 97 games.

One of the hottest questions for teens chatting with Chisholm was, "How much was the fit today?"

Iced out from his ears to his wrists, Chisholm replied:

"I didn't pay for any of it, but I can tell you how much it was."

Chisholm pointed to his neck and asked if anyone had a guess for the value of his necklace. Someone lucked out with the answer of a quarter-million.

The price breakdown was interrupted by another question after Chisholm said he had "8 in his ear."

"Who'd you pick in the Super Bowl?"

"How do you go against Mahomes?" Chisholm asked. "I made bank yesterday."

Then it was back to baseball.

"What's your walkup song going to be?"

Chisholm pulled out his phone and started playing music, then proceeded to tell the group gathered around him that he made the song they were listening to himself in the comfort of his bedroom with his best friend as a producer. Those in with the times compared Chisholm's voice to rapper Travis Scott, who's tied with the newly-renamed CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

"I'm a baseball player. If I put it out, people will say I'm not focused on the game," Chisholm said.

Naturally, the kids encouraged Chisholm to take the next step with his unreleased creations despite his rejections.

For Chisholm, the real studio can wait. For now, he's focused on a new season with Miami, preparing to lead the Fish to back-to-back postseason appearances after returning the team for the first time in a full season in 20 years.

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Marlins star Jazz Chisholm, Jr. throws ceremonial first pitch, remembers Riviera Beach roots