Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida and a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball (MLB's) National League. Their home park is Marlins Park.

The Miami Marlins began play in the 1993 season as the Florida Marlins. They played home games from their inaugural season to the 2011 season at Sun Life Stadium, which they shared with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and which was also called Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, and Land Shark Stadium during their tenancy. Since the 2012 season, they have played at Marlins Park in downtown Miami, on the site of the former Orange Bowl. The new park, unlike Sun Life Stadium (which was criticized in its baseball configuration for poor sight lines in some locations), was designed foremost as a baseball park. The new park's name is a temporary one until naming rights are purchased. Per agreement with the city and Miami-Dade County (which owns the park), the Marlins officially changed their name to the "Miami Marlins" on November 11, 2011. They also adopted a new logo, color scheme, and uniforms.

The Marlins have the distinction of winning a World Series championship every year they qualified for the postseason, doing so in 1997 and 2003 — both times as the National League wild card team. They defeated the American League champion Cleveland Indians in the 1997 series, which was notable for shortstop Edgar Rentería driving in second baseman Craig Counsell for the series-clinching run in the eleventh inning of the seventh and deciding game. The 2003 season was notable for the firing of manager Jeff Torborg after thirty-eight games. The Marlins were in last place in the National League East with a 16–22 record at the time. Torborg's successor, 72-year-old Jack McKeon, led them to the National League's wild card berth in the playoffs; they defeated the New York Yankees four games to two in the 2003 World Series.

Franchise history
Wayne Huizenga, CEO of Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation was awarded a expansion franchise in the National League for a $95 million expansion fee and the team began operations in 1993 as the Florida Marlins.

The Marlins would make the playoffs and win the World Series in both 1997 Florida Marlins season and 2003, though both titles were followed by controversial periods where the team sold off all the high priced players and rebuilt.

The Marlins moved into their new ballpark, Marlins Park in 2012, which coincided with a change in the team colors/uniforms and name to the Miami Marlins.

World Series Championships
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Notable former players

 * Josh Beckett (2001–2005) — Beckett was drafted by the Marlins in the first round (2nd overall) of the 1999 Amateur Draft. Beckett won the World Series MVP in 2003 and won 41 games as a member of the Marlins, with a 3.46 ERA. He was part of a series of trades in the team's 2005 Market Correction.
 * Kevin Brown (1996–1997) — In 1996, Brown posted a 17–11 record with 159 strikeouts and an MLB best 1.89 ERA, finishing second in the Cy Young Award voting. In 1997, Brown threw a one-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first appearance and a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants. In the 1997 National League Championship Series, Brown, riddled with the flu, proceeded to pitch a complete game in Game Six, defeating the Atlanta Braves and helping the Marlins reach the World Series, which they eventually won over the Cleveland Indians.
 * Mark Buehrle (2012) — A part of the Marlins re-brand in the 2012 offseason, he was signed to a four-year contract worth $58 million. Buerhle won 13 games while once again eclipsing 200 innings before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays with other high profile Marlins in Jose Reyes and Josh Johnson.
 * A. J. Burnett (1999–2005) — In 2001, Burnett pitched an unusual no-hitter where he walked nine batters. He threw the fastest fastball of all major league starters in 2005, averaging 95.6 miles per hour. During his tenure, Burnett was 49–50 with a 3.73 ERA, 14 complete games and a team record 8 shutouts, tied with Dontrelle Willis.
 * Miguel Cabrera (2003–2007) — Cabrera debuted with the Marlins in 2003 and hit a game-winning home run in his first game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was a key factor to the Marlins' 2003 World Series run and the ballclub's primary power hitter during his tenure, hitting 138 home runs and driving in 523 in five seasons. Cabrera went to four All-Star games and won a pair of Silver Slugger awards.
 * Luis Castillo (1996–2005) — Castillo won three Gold Glove Awards and went to three All-Star games in his tenure with the Marlins. He holds several franchise records, among them his 35-game hitting streak in 2002.
 * Jeff Conine (1993–1997, 2003–2005) — Jeff Conine has the distinction of being the only player to appear in the opener of the Marlins' inaugural season and in both the 1997 World Series and the 2003 World Series won by the Marlins. His game-winning homer earned him the All-Star game MVP trophy in 1995.
 * Álex González (1998–2005) — Alex Gonzalez was one of the premier defensive shortstops in the game during his tenure with the Marlins, and provided a walk-off home run in the 12th inning during Game 4 of the 2003 World Series. It was hit off Jeff Weaver.
 * Liván Hernández (1996–1998) — Hernandez's rookie season coincided with the 1997 World Series. He went 2–0 in the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, winning World Series MVP.
 * Charles Johnson (1994–1998, 2001–2002) — A four-time Gold Glove Award winner, in 1997 Johnson set a Major League single-season record for catchers by playing in 123 games without committing a single error. He is one of only three catchers in Major League history to catch at least 100 games in a single season without committing an error. Despite being known more for his defensive abilities, Johnson led the Marlins in the 1997 World Series with 10 hits.
 * Josh Johnson (2006–2012) — Johnson was the ace of the Marlins pitching staff for the majority of his tenure. He had a 56–37 career record while boasting an ERA of 3.15, including having the best ERA in the National League in 2010. Johnson struggled with injuries, seeing time on the disabled list in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays following the 2012 season.
 * Derrek Lee (1998–2003) — Lee won a Gold Glove in the 2003 championship season. He hit 129 home runs and drove in 417 runs. He holds the franchise record in strikeouts with 734.
 * Mike Lowell (1999–2005) — Lowell a native of Coral Gables, Florida had successful years in Florida and established himself as one of the elite third baseman in the league. In his tenure with the Marlins, Lowell was a three-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.
 * Ricky Nolasco (2006–2013) — Nolasco was the main piece in a 2005 trade with the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Juan Pierre. During his tenure, he broke many of the Marlins pitching records, now leading the franchise in wins (81), losses (72), innings pitched (1,258.2), and strikeouts (1,001). His tenure is one of the longest of any player in franchise history, playing for parts of eight seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers midway through the 2013 season.
 * Brad Penny (2000–2004) — In 2003, Penny collected the win in Florida's NLCS clinching victory over the Chicago Cubs and in the World Series against the New York Yankees he went 2–0 with a 2.19 ERA in his two starts. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004.
 * Hanley Ramírez (2006–2012) – As the main piece of the Josh Beckett & Mike Lowell trade in the 2005 off-season, Ramirez was the face of the franchise during his tenure and a major offensive cog, having a 30–30 season in 2008, winning a batting title and finishing 2nd in MVP voting in 2009, and participating in three All-Star games. His declining production in 2011 and 2012 led to him being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
 * Edgar Rentería (1996–1998) — Rentería is remembered for his 11th inning two-out RBI single in Game Seven of the 1997 World Series to give Florida a 3–2 triumph over the Cleveland Indians.
 * Jose Reyes (2012) — Reyes was signed to the largest contract in franchise history before the 2012 season as a part of the Marlins re-brand, along with Buerhle and Heath Bell. He played one season, batting .287 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs, before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays with Buerhle, Johnson, John Buck, and Emilio Bonifacio.
 * Iván Rodríguez (2003) — Despite only playing one season with the Marlins, he put up some the of the best offensive and defensive statistics by a Marlins catcher and was a key cog in the 2003 World Championship team. He won the 2003 NLCS MVP.
 * Cody Ross (2006–2010) — Ross had a three homer game in his first season with the Marlins and in his five years with the Marlins hit .265 with 80 home runs and 297 RBIs.
 * Aníbal Sánchez (2006–2012) – Also acquired in the Josh Beckett & Mike Lowell in the 2005 off-season, Sanchez threw a no-hitter in his rookie season and threw three one-hitters during his tenure. He won 44 games over parts of six seasons.
 * Gary Sheffield (1993–1997) — Sheffield hit 112 home runs with the Marlins from 1994 to 1998, including a club record 42 in 1996, and made the All-Star Game in 1996. He led the Marlins to victory in the 1997 World Series against the Cleveland Indians, making a spectacular catch against the right field fence in game 5.
 * Dan Uggla (2006–2010) — Acquired in the Rule 5 draft, Dan Uggla along with their current outfielder, Giancarlo Stanton are the franchise leaders in home runs with 154. Uggla is also the only second baseman in MLB history with four consecutive 30 home run seasons.
 * Dontrelle Willis (2003–2007) — The "D-Train" was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 2003 and showcased his remarkable (for a pitcher) hitting ability by going 3-for-3 with a triple while scoring a run during Game 4 of the 2003 National League Division Series, which the Marlins won 7–6 over the San Francisco Giants to advance to the NL Championship Series. Willis holds many Marlins pitching records including single season victories (22), complete games (15), shutouts (8), as well as being second in innings pitched (1,022 ⅔), franchise victories (67), and franchise losses (54).

Other former "big-name" Marlins include Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, potential Hall of Famers Mike Piazza, Bobby Bonilla, Carlos Delgado, Moisés Alou, Benito Santiago, Rob Nen and Trevor Hoffman, and productive players Craig Counsell and Jorge Cantú. Juan Pierre was part of this list until he re-signed with the team during the 2012 off-season.

Awards

 * No-Hitters: Marlins pitchers have issued five no-hitters in team regular-season history, four coming against teams in the NL West and one against a team from the American League.


 * Hitting for the cycle: No Marlin has ever hit for the cycle in franchise history.

Retired numbers
From 1993 until 2011, the Marlins had retired the number 5 in honor of Carl Barger, the first president of the Florida Marlins who died prior to the team's inaugural season. Barger's favorite player was Joe DiMaggio, thus the selection of number 5. With the move to the new ballpark, the team opted to honor Barger with a plaque. The team opened up number 5 for use on February 11, 2012. Logan Morrison, a Kansas City native and fan of Royals Hall-of-Famer George Brett (who wore that number with the Royals), became the first Marlin to wear the number.

Marlins Park
The Marlins began construction of a new, state-of-the-art stadium at the Miami Orange Bowl site on July 18, 2009. The now approved stadium was the subject of a protracted legal battle. A lawsuit by local automobile franchise mogul and former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman contested the legality of the deal with Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami. However, Miami-Dade County Judge Beth Cohen dismissed all the charges in Braman's lawsuit.

When completed, the seating capacity will be around 37,000, making it the third smallest stadium (in capacity) in the MLB. Set to open in April 1, 2012, the ballpark would become only the sixth MLB stadium to have a retractable roof, joining Rogers Centre in Toronto (1989), Chase Field in Phoenix (1998), Safeco Field in Seattle (1999), Minute Maid Park in Houston (2000), and Miller Park in Milwaukee (2001).

As part of the new stadium agreement, the team renamed itself the Miami Marlins on November 11, 2011 along with the unveiling of new uniforms and team logo in time for the move to the new stadium in 2012.

Until a naming-rights deal is reached, the park will be known as Marlins Park.

Radio and television
The Marlins' flagship radio station from their inception in 1993 through 2007 was WQAM 560 AM. Although the Marlins had plans to leave WQAM after 2006, they ultimately remained with WQAM for the 2007 season. On October 11, 2007, it was announced that the Marlins had entered into a partnership with WAXY 790 AM to broadcast all games for the 2008 season. Longtime Montreal Expo and current Marlins play-by-play radio announcer Dave Van Horne won the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting in 2010. He shares the play-by-play duties with Glenn Geffner.

Games are also broadcast in Spanish on Radio Mambi 710 AM. Felo Ramírez, who calls play-by-play on that station along with Luis Quintana, won the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Marlins games are televised by Fox Sports Florida. FS Florida's slogan in 2008 was "You Gotta Be Here." For the 2009 season the new slogan is "It's where you wanna be." There are no games available over-the-air, with the exception of games broadcast on Fox Saturday Baseball; the last "free TV" broadcast of a game was on WPXM in 2005. Rich Waltz is the play-by-play announcer and Tommy Hutton is the color analyst.

Culture
The Marlins are the first team in Major League Baseball to have a dance/cheer team: "The Marlins Mermaids." Debuting in 2003, the "Marlins Mermaids" quickly gained national exposure, and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads.

In 2008, the Florida Marlins debuted "The Marlins Manatees", Major League Baseball's first ever all-male dance/energy squad to star alongside the Mermaids.

As of 2012, the Marlins have abandoned the "Mermaids" and "Manatees" for in-game entertainment instead using an "energy squad", a co-ed group of dancers.

In June 2013, the book, "The Forgotten Marlins" A Tribute to the 1956–1960 Original Miami Marlins" was published. Its author is Sam Zygner (published by Scarecrow Press).

Best finishes in franchise history
The following are the five best seasons in Marlins' history:

Worst finishes in franchise history
The following are the five worst seasons in Marlins' history:

Home attendance

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Opening day salaries
Opening Day payrolls for 25-man roster (since 1993):

Annual financial records
The annual financial records of the Marlins according to Forbes since 2001.