Marlins make Skip Schumaker break-up official following season finale

On Sunday, Ryan Weathers (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 97 pitches/57 strikes) concluded his 2024 campaign on an awesome note. That's about as nasty as I've ever seen his sweeper. The Marlins took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Jonah Bride's two-run single and never relinquished it. Jake Burger started a game in the leadoff spot for the first time in his major league career, though his pursuit of a 30-home run season fell short. Anthony Bender recorded four outs to convert his first save of the season. The Marlins won, 3-1, completing what was only their second sweep of 2024. Their final record: 62-100.

At 8:00 p.m. ET, the Marlins addressed the elephant in the dugout. Chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman announced that they have "mutually agreed to part ways" with Skip Schumaker and "will immediately begin the process of searching" for his replacement.

Schumaker had a 146-178 overall record (.451 W-L%) with the Fish, which is fittingly identical to Jim Leyland, who led Florida to a 1997 World Series title, only to have his roster gutted the next season in a cost-cutting effort. Leyland was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, primarily due to his achievements with other clubs. I think Schumaker has a lengthy and successful managerial career in front of him as well. He's studious, observant, fiery and humble with innate leadership skills. It will be difficult to find a new skipper who handles the role as effectively as he did.

Coincidentally, I was talking about Schumaker on State of the Fish exactly when the news broke. Listen back to the full recording for our staff's thoughts concerning the future of the Marlins, on and off the field.

Here's more Marlins news and content:

🔷 Various stats that stood to me about the 2024 Marlins...They scored nearly as many runs (637) as the 2023 postseason-bound team (666). Their 22-win decline largely stemmed from pitching and defensive struggles. Otto Lopez accrued plus-8 defensive runs saved; the rest of his teammates combined for minus-35. Xavier Edwards ranked fifth in the majors with a .397 on-base percentage among players who had at least 300 plate appearances. His injury-shortened season was genuinely elite, though I remain skeptical of his fit at shortstop. Kyle Stowers' 35.5 K% was the worst among all players to receive meaningful playing time for the Marlins. He'll have a lot to prove in spring training.

🔷 The 2024 Prediction Time winner still has not been determined! After 52 Marlins series, there was a tie atop the leaderboard between @Daniel Rodriguez and @Nicholas Milton. As a tiebreaker, they will be predicting the outcomes of this week's Wild Card Series matchups.

🔷 I outlined all of the key dates that bridge the gap between the end of the 2024 season and the start of 2025 spring training.

🔷 Several Marlins players shared their optimism for 2025 and beyond, as Isaac Azout details.

🔷 Francys Romero of Beisbol FR reports that Roman Ocumarez is a finalist to take over the Mets' international scouting department. Ocumarez spent nearly three years with the Marlins prior to being let go this summer.

🔷 Voting for the All-MLB team is open until October 11. Luis Arraez, Jake Burger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Tanner Scott are on the ballot.

🔷 On this day 15 years ago, Ricky Nolasco established a Marlins franchise record that still stands by striking out 16 batters in a single game, including nine in a row at one point. 

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the regular season ain't over yet. The Braves and Mets will meet in Atlanta today for a straight doubleheader to determine the final two National League Wild Card spots. Sweeping the doubleheader would eliminate the losing team from making the playoffs, while a split would eliminate the Diamondbacks. Much like the Marlins, the White Sox got uncharacteristically hot during the season's final week, winning five of their last six games, so they finished at 121 losses, just one more than the previous modern-era record. Luis Arraez clinched his third consecutive batting title, leading all qualified NL players with a .314 BA (he previously led the AL in 2022 and the NL in 2023). Tarik Skubal won the AL pitching crown, pacing the league in ERA (2.39), strikeouts (228) and wins (18).

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