March 26, 200422 yr Author #11 May 11th 2003 Florida Marlins Hire 72 Year Old Jack McKeon as Team Manager The Marlins front office frustrated with the team?s poor opening record of 16-22 fired manager Jeff Torborg and pitching coach Brad Arnsberg. Despite the rash of injuries that plagued the Marlins during the early parts of 2003 and having the admiration and respect of his players. The Marlins front office felt that the team was underachieving under Torborg and not playing up to the level of expectations. Therefore, the decision was made to make the change. To replace Torborg, the Marlins made the unexpected and somewhat controversial hiring of 72 year old Jack McKeon. McKeon was the oldest manager ever hired to take a new job and was the 3rd oldest manager in major league history (behind only Connie Mack and Casey Stengel). Nobody questioned McKeon?s record as a manager. Prior to taking reign of the Marlins, Jack had managed in 12 major league season and carried a record of 770-733. The problem that some people had with the hiring was whether McKeon, who had been retired for 3 years, was whether he could relate to the young Marlins team. That concern was quickly dispelled as the young Marlin players were extremely responsive to McKeon?s simple and straight-forward manner in which he dealt with them. Many front office people today believe that modern players need to be treated with a sort of ?kid glove? approach where they are sort of coddled and always showered by praise. McKeon however is from the old school where the hard truth is always told, a player?s best effort is always expected, and no excuses are tolerated. This approach worked well with the Marlins players and many guys who had underachieved up to that point began to take noticeable steps forward once McKeon took control. After McKeon was hired, the Florida Marlins had the best record in the major leagues from that point on going 75-49 and clinching the National League Wild Card. The never give up attitude that McKeon instilled in his team carried them through the playoffs and gave them the self-confidence to defeat the New York Yankees to win the 2003 World Series.
March 26, 200422 yr How can you lose 108 games and be considered as Organization of the Year?? :blink:
March 27, 200422 yr organization of the year has little to do with the success of the major league team if that was the case then organization of the year would just go to the team that wins the world series, wouldnt you think organization of the year is an award that is given out based on the teams farm system and if you think about it, all the trades that were made that brought in all those prospects, its easy to figure out why the farms were so strong in 1998
March 28, 200422 yr Two good things have happened on my birthday. Hiring of Jack and No-hitter by Al Leiter. Also, I've been on two cruises in my life. One in 1997 and one in 2003. Somehow, I'm cosmically linked to the Marlins.
March 28, 200422 yr '03 has to be #1. I loved '97, but it just wasn't the same feeling! There are so many great memories...25 isn't enough. However, in terms of greatest 'moments', I'd have to say Edgar singling home Counsell was the most thrilling. Josh tagging out Posada wasn't exactly a crazy way to end the game, but overall '03 WS was better for me. yes but 97' was defenitely more thrilling. you just dont have too many bases loaded, 2 outs, tie game, extra innings in game 7 of the world series, now do you?
March 29, 200422 yr Author '03 has to be #1. I loved '97, but it just wasn't the same feeling! There are so many great memories...25 isn't enough. However, in terms of greatest 'moments', I'd have to say Edgar singling home Counsell was the most thrilling. Josh tagging out Posada wasn't exactly a crazy way to end the game, but overall '03 WS was better for me. yes but 97' was defenitely more thrilling. you just dont have too many bases loaded, 2 outs, tie game, extra innings in game 7 of the world series, now do you? well, the AZ game a few years later was pretty similar
April 1, 200422 yr 97 will be #1...Game 7 it one of the greatest World Series games ever. It was the best game Ive ever been to.
April 1, 200422 yr The way 97 ended was better than 2003, but the ride in 2003 was a million billion zillion times better. It has to be number one.
April 1, 200422 yr 97 will be #1...Game 7 it one of the greatest World Series games ever. It was the best game Ive ever been to. dont rub it in i couldnt get tickets :crying but on a good note, i would have to say the best game ive been to was this years NLDS game 3. wow, what a rush when pudge got that hit.
April 2, 200422 yr I listened to that game on the radio before going to my school's football game. It was the most exciting thing I'd ever heard. I thought we were done.
April 2, 200422 yr 97 will be #1...Game 7 it one of the greatest World Series games ever. It was the best game Ive ever been to. dont rub it in i couldnt get tickets :crying but on a good note, i would have to say the best game ive been to was this years NLDS game 3. wow, what a rush when pudge got that hit. Yeah that also had to be the best game I've been to. The Beckett performance in Game 5 is also up there where he kept the dream alive.
April 2, 200422 yr Conine throwing out J.T. Snow at the plate to win the NLDS. Gotta rank in the Top 5.
April 5, 200422 yr Author #10 October 15, 2003 Florida Marlins Beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series Earning the Right to Face the New York Yankees in the 2003 World Series On this night the Florida Marlins capped a three game to two come back with a win over the Chicago Cubs to advance to 2003 World Series. Game 7 came on the heels of one of the most memorable moments in baseball history with the infamous Bartman incident of Game 6, but this game carried plenty of its own dramatics. The Marlins jumped out to an early lead on the strength of rookie Miguel Cabrera?s 3 run homerun which Juan Pierre and Pudge Rodriguez. The Cubs quickly tied the game in the second when pitcher Kerry Wood capped a 3-run inning with a two run homerun off Marlins starter Mark Redman. The Cubs then took a 5-3 lead in the third inning when former Marlin Moises Alou hit a two homer that also scored Sammy Sosa. The Cubs held the lead for only one inning and after that they would never lead again after the Marlins broke out with a 3 run rally in the 5th inning which saw RBIs by Pudge Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera, and Derrek Lee. The Marlins expanded their lead in the 6th inning when Luis Castillo singled home Jeff Conine which took the lead to 7-5. Then in 7th inning SS Alex Gonzalez doubled to score Mike Lowell and Jeff Conine to take the score to 9-5. Cubs OF Troy O?Leary hit a solo shot in 7th to bring the final score to 9-6. Marlins pitcher Brad Penny got the win for the Marlins after only one inning of work pitching a scoreless 4th inning. The real pitching star for the Marlins however was Josh Beckett who pitched 4 innings on only 2 days rest giving up only 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 3. Catcher Pudge Rodriguez was named the MVP of the Series after going 10 for 28 for a .357 average with 5 runs scored with 2 homeruns and 10 RBI. The Series win gave the Marlins the right to face the yet to be determined American League Champion (the New York Yankees won the ALCS in 7 games) in their second World Series appearance in their ten years of existence.
April 5, 200422 yr Author #9 February 12, 2002 Major League Baseball Approves Transfer of Ownership from John Henry to Former Montreal Expos Owner Jeffrey Loria Major League Baseball Ownership Committee approves an unprecedented three way sale that included the transfer of ownership of the Florida Marlins from John Henry Montreal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria. The details of the deal included the agreement that Major League Baseball would purchase the Expos from Loria for $120 million and Loria would purchase the Marlins from Henry for $158.5 million. The Marlins franchise had suffered through three years and two ownership groups that could do little to persuade the South Florida community to agree to build the Marlins a baseball only facility. Many fans had abandoned the Marlins after the 1997 championship team was ripped apart by former owner Wayne Huizenga and the subsequent owner John Henry?s condescendingly transparent effort to restore fan confidence fell flat. Despite the obstacles, the new ownership was confident that they could soothe over the tensions and create not only a winning team but one that the South Florida community would rally behind. When the ownership transfer was made official on February 16, 2002, Loria enthusiastically announced that ?Our goal is to return this organization to championship form.? New team President David Samson added ?What the Marlins are asking for is for the South Florida community to give them a chance, to give them a clean slate.? He continued ?They are asking for the community to forget past troubles and let the team earn the respect of community and to have them return to baseball.? When asked if he bought the Marlins merely to move them to another city Loria had this to say. ?We bought the Marlins because we want to be here, because we believe the team and the community have a lot to offer each other. We are here to stay. We?re fully committed to the Marlins, to South Florida and to the game,?. And our actions will prove that.? In only two years of ownership of the Marlins, Loria and his staff have been true to their word. They have aggressively marketed their team with respect to the diverse South Florida community, they resisted from making a fire sale based on their payroll by resigning several core players to long term deals, they have made aggressive moves to improve their team when they felt they had a chance to compete, and they have restored the respect and quality of the organization by delivering a World Series title.
April 5, 200422 yr Author #8 June 22, 2002 2B Luis Castillo?s Team Record Hitting Streak of 35 Games Castillo grabbed the attention of the baseball world in the summer of the 2002 season with his 35 game hitting streak. On this night the streak was snapped after a 0-4 night against the Detroit Tigers. While it was obvious that Castillo was upset about his streak coming to an end, after the game the South Florida fans and his teammates showed their respect and appreciation for the Marlins second baseman with a standing ovation and demanding a curtain call. Castillo?s streak, while falling far short of the Joe DiMaggio?s record 56 game record, was still a record setting performance in many respects. Luis? streak was the longest streak ever by a non-American born player, it was also the longest streak ever by a second baseman, and the 10th longest streak ever in major league history.
April 5, 200422 yr Author #7 October 14, 1997 Florida Marlins Win Their First National League Title With a 7-4 Victory Over the Atlanta Braves to Take the Series 4-2 The Florida Marlins earned the right to play in their first ever World Series by beating the Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2 to win the National League Championship Series. In game 6 the Marlins never trailed in the game after scored 4 runs in the first inning. The Braves trimmed the lead to 4-3 after the 2nd but the Marlins scored another 3 runs in the 6th to put away the Braves. With the win, the Marlins went on to face the American League Champion Cleveland Indians. Pitcher Livan Hernandez took the MVP honors for the series after taking 2 wins in two appearances. In the series he pitched 10.7 innings only giving up 1 run for a 0.87 ERA on 5 hits while striking out 16 and allowing only 2 walks.
April 5, 200422 yr Author #6 April 5, 1993 The Florida Marlins Take the Field For the First Time in History in Their Inaugural Game and Beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 The long wait for major league baseball in Florida, which began in 1985 when the National League decided to expand by two teams, finally ended today when the Florida Marlins took the field to play their first ever official game. The opening lineup for the Marlins was as follows; CF Scott Pose, 2B Bret Barberie, RF Junior Felix, 1B Orestes Destrade, 3B Dave Magadan, C Benito Santiago, LF Jeff Conine, SS Walt Weiss, and SP Charlie Hough. Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio threw out the first pitch and the Marlins retired #5 in honor of former team President Carl Barger who passed away a few months prior. 42,334 witnessed Charlie Hough take the victory over the Dodgers Orel Hershiser. Jeff Conine, was the offensive star of the game going 4-4. The Inaugural Game held many firsts for the Marlins organization; first hit Bret Barberie, first RBI Walt Weiss, first run scored Benito Santiago, first stolen base Jeff Conine, first win Charlie Hough, and first save Bryan Harvey. Although no Marlin hitter hit a homerun in the game, the first Marlin homerun came a week later when Benito Santiago belted the organization?s first homerun in Candlestick Park off of pitcher Trevor Wilson of the San Francisco Giants.
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