MLB 2026: Miami Marlins going to extremes to fix franchise - ESPN

The Miami Marlins turned heads across Major League Baseball in September when they became the first team to call pitches from the dugout, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Long before that, they had done away with traditional bullpen sessions and soft-toss batting practices and replaced them with hyper-competitive alternatives, part of an organizational push to persistently challenge players. Practically every team seeks more pitch velocity and bat speed, but perhaps none other is as unabashed about building it in-season. Base stealing is back in vogue, but Marlins minor leaguers take more risks than anyone.

For decades, the Marlins have been defined by fire sales, empty seats and last-place finishes. But they are now gaining a reputation as arguably the sport's most cutting-edge organization, a distinction their circumstances might have forced upon them. In order to survive against teams with far more resources, the Marlins believe they have to be different. Aggressively so.

"We have to innovate," Marlins general manager Gabe Kapler said. "We do not have a choice."

The Marlins spent $108 million to revamp their spring training facility, which they unveiled earlier this year, and are constructing pitching and hitting labs that will sit adjacent to it. It will be a massive boost, but not a novel one. In an era when information is so prevalent, and every team is up to speed on analytics, can teams still find legitimate advantages on the margins?

The Marlins are betting on it.

"I think a lot of people say baserunning is important," Marlins director of player development Rachel Balkovec said, "but having a true system around it is something that our organization has done really well."

On July 4, 2024, the Marlins' rookie-ball team in the Florida Complex League stole 13 bases in a single game, a number that hasn't been matched in the major leagues since 1914. That team accumulated 208 steals that year, 64 more than the runner-up. The following year, the Marlins' five domestic affiliates combined for 1,233 stolen bases. No other organization came close. One of their prospects, Class A Beloit outfielder Emaarion Boyd, stole six bases without recording a single hit that April.

"We basically have kind of a green light for a lot of people," Balkovec said. "We believe baserunning and base stealing is a skill that you can develop. It's not just, 'You're fast.'"

Taking chances often leads to making outs, and Marlins minor leaguers have been no strangers to that. Their five affiliates were caught stealing a whopping 324 times last season. Among the 150 minor league teams that dot the United States, three Marlins affiliates ranked within the top eight in most times picked off.

It's all part of a larger organizational mantra: Don't be afraid to fail.

The Marlins are not completely fearless, Kapler notes. They merely understand the need to constantly overcome it. He and Bendix have worked to create a culture of experimentation, believing that if something fails -- like postgame practices, which were tried a handful of times with minor leaguers last year but didn't catch on -- they're operating with the right aggression. It's not just a mantra.

There's a lot more at the link above.

The baserunning thing is on purpose - run a lot, and that may come with a lot of outs.

So is Kapler the idiot to blame for all the base pickoffs and constant shitty lineup tweaks? 🤔

Not surprised at all many fans no more cared about this team, yeah they do everything they could (except for spending the real money ) to try to compete with rich teams but maybe they would never becoming the Miami Rays they want to be.