Where are the Second Basemen now?
November 27, 2007 by Roman Garcia · Leave a Comment
In the position that has featured the least turnover in the history of the franchise, it is now time to re-visit the players that have played second base for the Marlins in the team’s history.
Over the years the Marlins have had five different players start at second base, here is a breakdown.
1993-94
Bret Barberie (203 games): Barberie was the opening day starter and would go on to play for the Marlins for the first two years of the team’s existence. He was drafted three consecutive seasons (St. Louis in the 2nd round of 1986, Oakland in the 1st round and Kansas City in the 65th round) before being taken after his senior year at Southern California in the seventh round of the 1988 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos.
He came to Florida with the sixth overall pick in the 1992 expansion draft. Barberie would play 203 games for the Marlins before being traded to Baltimore in December 1994 for relief pitcher Jay Powell. He last played in the big leagues in 1996 as a member of the Chicago Cubs.
His final career numbers in six big-league seasons were .271 batting average with 16 home runs, 133 RBI and 73 doubles. His best season was 1991 with the Montreal Expos.
1995-96
Quilvio Veras (189 games): The second player to don a Marlins uniform while playing second base was Veras, who was acquired by the Marlins from the New York Mets in 1994 for Carl Everett.
He was later traded to the San Diego Padres for Dustin Hermanson in November 1996, before being dealt to the Atlanta Braves in 1999 in a trade that featured Wally Joyner, Reggie Sanders for Bret Boone, Ryan Klesko and Jason Shiell. He was later released by the Braves, before signing with the Red Sox in August 2001. Following the season he was released.
His final career numbers in seven big-league seasons were .270 batting average, 32 home runs, 239 RBI and 183 stolen bases. His best season was 1997 with the San Diego Padres.
1997, 1999-2005
Luis Castillo (1,114) games: The longest-tenured Marlin at second base was a player that started his career with the Marlins. Castillo was signed as undrafted free agent in 1992.
He would man second base on two different occasions, starting during the 1997 season before losing his job to eventual World Series hero Craig Counsell. He would regain his starting spot in 1999 and go on to play a total 1,114 games for the Marlins before being traded in December 2005 to the Minnesota Twins for Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler (Two players who have yet to pan out for the Marlins).
Castillo was eventually traded to the Marlins division rival New York Mets during this past season as the Mets tried to hold on to their division lead before losing out by falling ins two of the final three games to the Marlins.
His career numbers to date in 12 big-league season are .294 batting average, 24 home runs, 358 RBI and 325 stolen bases. His best big-league season thus far was in 2003 for the Marlins, a season in which the team won its second world championship and Castillo had a 35-game hitting streak.
1998
Craig Counsell (167 games): The World Series hero, who is best known for crossing home plate with the winning run in the 11th inning of Game 7 versus the Cleveland Indians, took over at second base midway through the 1997 season from Luis Castillo. He was acquired by the Marlins from the Colorado Rockies in July 1997 for pitcher Mark Hutton. The Rockies had drafted Counsell in the 11th round of the 1992 amateur draft.
Following his time with the Marlins, who traded Counsell to the Dodgers in 1999 for a player to be named later (Ryan Moskau), he has been most prominently been going back and for between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Milwaukee Brewers.
His career numbers to date in 12 big-league seasons are .257 batting average, 34 home runs, 307 RBI and 172 doubles. His best season was in 2005 for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
2006-07
Dan Uggla (309 games): The current Marlins second baseman was a diamond found in the rough when the Marlins plucked him from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2006 Rule V Draft.
He went from minor-league nobody to All-Star within a year with the ball club. Uggla is trying to fill the shoes of one of the most popular players in the franchise’s history in Luis Castillo. He was drafted by the Diamondbacks 11th round of the 2001 draft before being plucked away by the Marlins.
Uggla, who finished 3rd in the rookie of the year voting which was won by teammate Hanley Ramirez, played in his first All-Star game as he was one of the Marlins best power hitters in 2006.
His career numbers to date in two big-league seasons (both with the Marlins) are .263 batting average, 58 home runs and 178 RBI including 75 doubles. His best season was this past season, where he hit .245, 31 HR, 88 RBI and 49 doubles.
That concludes part 3 of this feature. Stay tuned, because next We’ll be looking back at the shortstops in franchise history.
Where are the First Basemen now?
November 21, 2007 by Larry Walansky · Leave a Comment
We’ve looked at the catchers, now it’s time to look at all the regular starting first basemen in Marlins history.
1993
Orestes Destrade – Not only was Destrade the original first baseman of the Florida Marlins franchise but he also has the prestige of getting the first double in team history. Before signing with the Marlins, he played in Japan for the Seibu Lions and led the league in home runs for three consecutive years. In the franchise’s inaugural season and his only as a major league regular, Destrade hit .255 with 20 home runs and 87 runs driven in. After 1993, he remained with the Marlins in ‘94 but was limited to 130 at bats. Following the 1994 season, Destrade was granted free agency. He’d go on to play in Japan for 1 season before retiring. Destrade can now be seen on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.
1994, 1997
Jeff Conine – Mr. Marlin will be featured in more than just this article due to his ability to play different parts of the field. For now, I’ll focus on his days as the primary 1B. In 1994, the 1B was split many ways and even though Conine played a mere 46 games at the position — he had the most games played. Conine hit .319 with 18 homers and 82 runs batted in that season. He was an All Star and got some MVP votes as well. It was one of the better seasons of is career. In 1997, Conine hit a disappointing .242 with 17 homers and 61 runs batted in. Despite these numbers, Jeff Conine was a big reason for the World Championship in 1997 and is arguably the biggest name in Marlins franchise history. This past season, Conine played with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Following the season, he elected to retire from Major League Baseball to spend more time with his family. He runs a restaurant in South Florida as well.
1995 – 1996
Greg Colbrunn – His only 2 seasons in Major League Baseball with over 500 at bats came with the Florida Marlins. In 1995, he hit .277 and powered the way with 23 home runs and 89 runs knocked in. In 1996, he hit .286 with 16 home runs and 69 runs batted in. His defense was phenomenal making a total of 11 errors in both years combined. While he had a short career in teal, he certainly made an impact. Colbrunn would go on to play until 2004 with a variety of franchises before retiring. Today, he is the hitting coach of the Charleston RiverDogs, an affiliate of the New York Yankees.
1998, 2000 – 2003
Derrek Lee – One of the more recognizable right side infielders in franchise history. In his rookie campaign, Lee hit .233 with 17 home runs and 74 runs batted in. From 2000-2003, Lee hit 107 home runs and knocked in 323 runs. Not only did he play a big role with his bat, but he was a tremendous player with the glove as well including picking up a gold glove in 2003. Lee also grabbed some MVP votes in the 2003 championship run. It goes without saying but Lee was a main reason for the championship run in 2003. Currently, Lee plays for the Chicago Cubs. He has been with them since the Marlins traded him for Hee Seop Choi who we will look at later.
1999
Kevin Millar – In 1999, Millar batted .285 with 9 home runs and 67 runs bated in. He also played in parts of 1998,2000,2001 and 2002 however most of those games were in the outfield. Following 2002, the Marlins sold Millar to Japan however the Boston Red Sox put a claim in on Millar when he was placed on waivers. The move was frowned upon but in the end, Millar wound up in Boston where he was part of the 2004 championship team. Today, Millar is a member of the Baltimore Orioles.
2004
Hee Seop Choi – A short time in Florida but a productive one. Choi was a fan favorite in his half season with the Marlins where he hit .270 with 15 home runs and 40 runs batted in. He was traded at the trade deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster deal where the Marlins attempted to fill all their needs for a playoff push. Choi would go on to play part time in 2005 for the Dodgers as well. Today, Choi plays in South Korea for the Kia Tigers.
2005
Carlos Delgado – Prior to the 2005 season, Delgado was a big name on the free agent market. A huge surprise took place when the cash strapped Marlins signed Delgado to a big free agent deal. Delgado hit .301 with 33 home runs and 115 runs batted in during his one season in South Florida. Following that season, the Marlins traded Delgado to the New York Mets in order to dump salary. The Mets were one of the teams vying for Delgado’s services during the free agent period when he chose the Marlins. Today, Delgado remains a member of the New York Mets and is their starting first baseman.
2006 – 2007
Mike Jacobs – He was the key piece of the Delgado trade with the Mets. In only 100 at bats in New York in 2005 he hit 11 home runs and made people think of Shane Spencer’s debut with the Yankees. In his rookie season with the Marlins, Jacobs hit .262 with 20 home runs and 77 runs batted in. Obviously a slower pace than his debut with the Mets but still a very respectable rookie season. In 2007, Jacobs hit .265 with 17 homers and 54 runs knocked in. Jacobs missed a chunk of time with a hand injury which impacted his numbers. He is currently on the Marlins and is set to be the starting 1B again in 2008.
