Florida Marlins
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Franchise |
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Franchise Record: 963-1076 World Series Titles: 2 (1997, 2003) National League Pennants: 2 (1997, 2003) Franchise Players: |  Florida Marlins Logo |
The Florida Marlins are a National League expansion club that began play in 1993 (see Expansion of 1993). Their first selection in the expansion draft was outfielder Nigel Wilson of the Toronto Blue Jays. Led by manager Rene Lachemann and star outfielder Gary Sheffield, the club struggled in their first few seasons. Lachemann was fired in 1996.
Jim Leyland took over as manager in 1997 Marlins and armed with a pitching staff of Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, and Alex Fernandez, he led the Marlins to the wild card. The team upset the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series and went on to defeat the Cleveland Indians in an exciting seven game World Series.
After winning the world championship, Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga decided to dismantle his club. Within a couple years, virtually every star of the 1997 club was gone. Performance and attendance suffered, and Huizenga sold the team to John Henry. In 2002, Henry in turn sold the team to Jeffrey Loria. The team's fortunes began to improve. During the 2003 season, manager Jeff Torborg was replaced with Jack McKeon. Players responded to the change, and McKeon led the club to another wild card. After upsetting the San Francisco Giants in the Division Series, they beat the Chicago Cubs in the League Championship Series. Again they scored an unexpected World Series victory, defeating the New York Yankees in six games.
In each of the next two seasons, the Marlins finished third in the NL East with a 83-79 record. After the 2005 season, owner Loria announced that without a new stadium, the club may be forced to relocate after the team's current lease ends. Within days of the announcement, the team drastically cut its payroll by dealing highly-paid stars Carlos Delgado, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo, Paul Lo Duca, Juan Pierre, and Josh Beckett. The Marlins surprised fans in 2006, going 78-84 and even contending for the wild card for a time, despite having a lineup mainly made up of rookies and cast-offs. However, after the season, skipper Joe Girardi was fired due to differences with management.
[edit] Marlins Managers
Cookie Rojas 1996 (interm)
