Making the case for Marlins to retire Miguel Cabrera's number

Through 32 seasons of play, the Marlins have created many memories for their fans, but the celebratory occasions have been few and far between. Even including two World Series titles, they've totaled only eight seasons ending in records over .500 and zero divisional crowns. Winning hasn't been sustained and ownership has been unwilling to pay star-caliber players their commensurate salaries. As a byproduct of that comorbidity, few individuals are universally remembered as Marlins, and none of them officially have their number retired in honor of their Marlins tenure.

Who has the credentials to end the drought?

Giancarlo Stanton is an undeniably strong candidate, both literally and figuratively. The vast majority of MLB's retired numbers are associated with players who provided an influx of value to their respective clubs, and Stanton—the team's only league MVP—tops the franchise leaderboard in wins above replacement (35.7 bWAR).

However, that likely wouldn’t come to pass until Stanton formally hangs up the spikes. With three guaranteed years left on his contract and still mashing crucial postseason home runs for his current club, he's a long way away from facing his baseball mortality.

Narrowing our focus to inactive players, Hanley Ramírez ranks second to Stanton with 26.9 bWAR. Over the course of 10 seasons with the Fish, Luis Castillo set several records in counting stats that still belong to him nearly two decades later. Despite a much shorter stint, Miguel Cabrera makes up for lack of bulk with sheer production that put him on a future first-ballot Hall of Fame trajectory.

Debuting with the team in June 2003, the then-20-year-old Cabrera—donning a uniform number that matched his age—hit a respectable .268/.325/.468/.793 as a rookie. The Marlins secured an improbable postseason berth, going 56-31 in games that he played (compared to 35-40 in games he didn't).

In his 17 games that postseason, Cabrera hit four home runs, including a pivotal three-run blast off Roger Clemens in Game 4 of the World Series as Florida upset the dynastic New York Yankees.

Over the next four seasons, Cabrera would wear No. 24 and establish himself as a superstar. He eclipsed 30 home runs thrice, drove in at least 112 runs every year, finished top five in NL MVP voting twice, and earned four consecutive All-Star nods. To this day, Cabrera and Stanton are the only two Marlins to make four All-Star teams while with Miami. Setting the minimum at 1,500 plate appearances, Cabrera’s 143 OPS+ (43% above league average) ranks third in Marlins history, trailing only Stanton (147) and Gary Sheffield (156).

It's been 17 years since the Marlins traded Cabrera in a financially motivated move, but the South Florida community still has affection for him. A crowd of 32,936 (nearly a sellout) showed up at loanDepot park on a random Saturday in July to see him and the visiting Detroit Tigers during his farewell season.

Is all of this enough to hang Cabrera’s number forever in the rafters? The change from 20 to 24 creates some awkwardness considering that the latter isn't directly associated with team success. Even without getting pedantic about that, his grand total of five seasons pales in comparison to typical number retirement subjects.

The most relevant comp for Cabrera lies in the heart of the Lone Star State.

Enter Nolan Ryan. 

Ryan distinguished himself by winning 244 games and striking out 4,282 hitters between his time with the California Angels and Houston Astros from 1972-1988. Still pitching at a high level entering his age-42 season in 1989, he jumped on the I-45 amid a contract dispute with Houston and headed north for Arlington to join the Texas Rangers. 

Ryan pitched five seasons for Texas through 1993. He continued to mow hitters down to the tune of 10.1 K/9 and 6.4 H/9, leading the AL in strikeouts twice and K/9 thrice, amassing 15.2 bWAR in the process. The Rangers retired his No. 34 in 1996. Like Cabrera, Ryan's high-level performance assuaged any possible gripes about his overall output with the franchise.

Even if the Marlins were to move forward with bestowing this honor upon Cabrera, it'd be bittersweet. He will be remembered first and foremost as a Tiger and inducted into Cooperstown as such when eligible. In retirement, he remains affiliated with Detroit as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations. Like most things with the Marlins franchise, you’re simply left wanting more.