By: Andy Kent
History of the Miami Marlins professional baseball team.
Considering that Florida has been a hotbed for baseball’s spring training going all the way back to the days of Babe Ruth, it’s amazing that it took until 1993 for a Major League Baseball franchise to begin play in the Sunshine State. That’s the year the Miami Marlins (known then as the Florida Marlins) took the field for the first time, with the Marlins and then owner Wayne Huizenga sharing a stadium with the Miami Dolphins.
Following in the footsteps of Huizenga’s young professional sports franchise, the NHL’s Florida Panthers, the Marlins made a meteoric rise early on, winning the World Series in 1997 in seven games over the Cleveland Indians with veteran manager Jim Leyland calling the shots from the dugout. That ball club boasted an All-Star lineup that included Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Moises Alou, Jeff Conine, Cliff Floyd and pitchers Kevin Brown and Livan Hernandez, drawing passionate crowds to what was then known as Pro Player Stadium.
Marlins Game
Shortly after capturing baseball’s most coveted trophy, Huizenga dismantled the roster in a payroll dump that angered Marlins fans, but just six years later and under the new ownership of Jeffrey Loria, the team was back in the World Series. They faced the vaunted New York Yankees and behind the young and brash pitching ace Josh Beckett, came out on top yet again with the 2003 crown behind the guidance of another cagey veteran manager in Jack McKeon.
In between those two championships, the Marlins and Pro Player Stadium played host to some memorable games, including a late three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998. That’s when Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire belted four homes runs in two nights – numbers 56, 57, 58 and 59 – to inch closer to the single-season home run mark of 61 held by the Yankees’ Roger Maris since 1961.
The Miami Marlins future is brighter than ever under the leadership of new owners Bruce Sherman and 2020 Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, Derek Jeter. Sherman and Jeter purchased the franchise in 2017 for an estimated $1.2 billion dollars and have been revamping the franchises from head to toe. Under their leadership, the Marlins now have one of the top minor league systems in Major League Baseball with young prospects such as Sixto Sanchez, Jazz Chisholm, Victor Victor Mesa, JJ Bleday and Jesus Sanchez.
Arial of Marlins Ballpark
High Profile Players
The Marlins have had their fair share of high-profile players and managers, with some of the players like Miguel Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez enjoying more of their success after leaving for other teams. But by signing young slugger Giancarlo Stanton to the largest contract in all of baseball in 2015 and then bringing Don Mattingly onboard as manager prior to the 2016 seasons, it appeared that the club finally was making a full-blown commitment to putting a winner on the diamond and makinganother playoff push.
After almost two decades in Miami Gardens playing in one of the few remaining dual-purpose stadiums in the country, the Marlins moved into the sparkling new Marlins Park on the footprint of the old Orange Bowl prior to the 2012 season. The stadium features a retractable roof, a necessary feature in South Florida, especially during the summer rainy season. This feature eliminates the problem of rain delays and also has proven beneficial as a concert venue for popular recording artists.
In addition to Miami Marlins baseball, Marlins Park hosted the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic and college football’s Miami Beach Bowl as well as the 2017 MLB All-Star Game and super start concerts from Beyonce to Guns N’ Roses.
Get Your Marlins Tickets
Among the unique features at the ballpark is a live fish tank behind home plate and the unique homerun sculpture, which is now outside. Get more information and buy tickets or call (305) 480-2525.
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