Mike Ferguson

When one thinks about Florida/Miami Marlins firsts, many of those are held by catcher Charles Johnson. The first-ever draft pick of the Florida Marlins, Johnson was also the club’s first Gold Glove winner and first All-Star behind the plate. A native of Fort Piece who played his college baseball at the University of Miami, Johnson was born July 20, 1971. He celebrates his 55th birthday today. Selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Johnson had two stints with the Marlins. Johnson was a member of the team from 1994 to 1998 and then again in 2001 and 2002. He made All-Star appearances during both stints. Johnson made his big-league debut in 1994 before transitioning to the team’s primary catcher a year later. In 1995, Johnson became the Marlins’ first Gold Glove winner—an award he would receive in four straight seasons. He was also just the fourth catcher to win a Gold Glove as a rookie. Luis Castillo is the only other Marlins player to win three straight Gold Gloves. In 1996, Johnson caught Al Leiter’s no-hitter—the first in Marlins history—as Florida topped the Colorado Rockies. In fact, Johnson caught the Marlins’ first three no-hitters in club history. He was behind the plate for Kevin Brown’s no-no against the San Francisco Giants in 1997 and A.J. Burnett’s wild no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in 2001. A day after Burnett’s no-hitter, Johnson came off the bench to hit a go-ahead pinch-hit grand slam. In 1997, Johnson made his first All-Star appearance, hitting .250 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs. The 19 bombs would be his highest total as a member of the Marlins. Johnson also posted 4.4 wins above replacement (bWAR), the highest of his Marlins tenure. That season, Johnson helped the Marlins win their first World Series. He set an MLB record for catchers by playing in 123 games without an error. Johnson led baseball by throwing out 56 would-be base stealers. Johnson drove in the first run in Marlins postseason history with a solo blast in the seventh inning of a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. In Game 1 of the World Series, Johnson followed Moises Alou’s three-run home run with a solo shot of his own to give the Marlins a 5-1 lead in an eventual 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians. During the postseason, Johnson hit .264, including .357 in the World Series, with the two homers and 10 RBIs. In Game 7 of the World Series, Johnson’s clutch one-out single in the bottom of the ninth moved Alou from first to third and set up Craig Counsell’s game-tying sacrifice fly. Florida would beat Cleveland in 11 innings to win its first title, 3-2. Johnson played just 31 games for the Marlins in 1998 before being packaged in a big-time trade that sent Gary Sheffield and Bobby Bonilla to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Todd Zeile and Mike Piazza to Florida. After spending the 1999 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Johnson had his best statistical offensive season in 2000 when he hit .304 with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs—all career-highs—for the Orioles and Chicago White Sox. Johnson signed as a free agent to return to the Marlins prior to the 2001 season. In 2001, Johnson would make his second and final All-Star Game, hitting .259 with 18 home runs and 75 RBIs. After batting .217 with six home runs and 36 RBIs in 2002 for Florida, Johnson spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies before returning to the Sunshine State to finish his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005. In parts of seven total seasons with the Marlins, Johnson hit .241 with 75 home runs and 277 RBIs—both club records for a catcher. Johnson’s 8.6 defensive wins above replacement (dWAR) remains the highest in team history regardless of position. The standout and two-time All-Star turns 55 today. View full article

Over five seasons as a member of the Miami Marlins, Martín Prado hit just 22 home runs. His lone extra-innings shot came on this day 10 years ago. After the Marlins scored two runs in the ninth to force extra innings, Prado played the role of hero. His solo home run in the top of the 11th propelled Miami past the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2. Through eight innings at Citizens Bank Park on July 18, 2016, Miami had managed just two hits and was on the short end of a 2-0 score. Looking to close it out, the Phillies turned to right-hander Jeanmar Gómez. Gómez began the night by getting Ichiro Suzuki to ground back to the mound. After a single by J.T. Realmuto, Gómez struck out Prado on just three pitches for the second out. On the very next pitch, Christian Yelich broke up the shutout with an RBI double. Yelich would go to third on a wild pitch as Giancarlo Stanton walked. Marcell Ozuna followed with the game-tying RBI single but pinch runner Yefri Pérez was thrown out at third base to end the threat. With the score now tied 2-2, the contest went to extras. After Fernando Rodney worked a scoreless ninth for the Marlins, both teams left runners in scoring position in the 10th. Lefty Brett Oberholtzer entered the contest for the Phillies in the top of the 11th. Leading off the inning for Miami was Prado. To that point, Prado was 0-for-4. After taking two pitches for balls, Prado took Oberholtzer’s letter-high fastball over the wall in left field for a no-doubter as the Marlins took their first lead, 3-2. AJ Ramos worked a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the save. Kyle Barraclough, who worked a scoreless 10th, earned the win for Miami. The late collapse for Philadelphia spoiled a stellar start from Aaron Nola, who allowed just two hits in six shutout innings. It also got Miami starter José Fernández off the hook for the loss. Fernández allowed just two runs on four hits in 6 ⅓ innings while tying a career-high with 14 strikeouts. Maikel Franco got the scoring started for the Phillies with an RBI groundout in the first inning. Tommy Joseph took Fernández deep for a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh to cap the Philadelphia scoring. After winning in 11 innings to open the series, the Marlins earned another extra-innings win the following night to clinch the series. As for Prado, only two of his 100 career home runs over 14 years in the big leagues came in extra innings. The last of those came as a member of the Marlins and on this day a decade ago. View full article

Since their inauguration in 1993, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had walk-off wins in just about every way imaginable. Heck, the Marlins even won their first playoff game and first World Series in walk-off fashion. On this day 30 years ago, the Florida Marlins picked up their first-ever win on a walk-off walk. Quilvio Veras drew the free pass to plate in the winning run in a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros. After recording the final out in the eighth inning at Joe Robbie Stadium on July 16, 1996, Todd Jones was sent out to pitch the bottom of the ninth for Houston. Jones started the inning by getting Devon White to fly out. From there on, however, Jones struggled to find the strike zone. Jones walked Greg Colbrunn on four pitches before getting Alex Arias to line out. Charles Johnson followed by drawing a six-pitch walk to put the winning run in scoring position. One pitch later, Jones hit Andre Dawson to load the bases. With Jones struggling to throw strikes, Veras, the Florida lead-off man, was the perfect hitter to come up with the bases loaded. Veras battled by fouling off pitches before taking the seventh pitch of the plate appearance low and inside for ball four, allowing Colbrunn to trot home for the winning run. The Marlins managed just four hits but never trailed in the contest. Veras plated the first run with an RBI single in the third to score Johnson. In the fifth, Johnson’s solo home run extended the lead to 2-0. Houston drew even with a pair of runs in the seventh. After a Ricky Gutiérrez RBI groundout broke up the shutout, Rick Wilkins singled home the tying run. Both starting pitchers allowed just two runs on four hits. Doug Drabek went 7 2/3 innings for the Astros. John Burkett gave the Marlins seven strong innings. Yorkis Pérez worked a scoreless ninth to earn the win. Édgar Rentería had two of the four hits for Florida; Derek Bell had two of the five knocks for the Astros. The Marlins would beat Houston again the following night to complete the three-game series sweep. The 1996 season for Florida would be the best in franchise history to that point with 80 wins. That included seven walk-off wins. The only one that didn’t require a swing came on this day three decades ago. View full article

Over 34 years as a franchise, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had their fair share of high-scoring efforts. The club has also erased some big deficits. Only once, however, have the Marlins turned a five-run deficit into a win by double digits. It happened on this day 30 years ago. After falling behind early to the Houston Astros, the Florida Marlins erupted for 15 unanswered runs in a 15-5 victory. For the early parts of the July 15, 1996 contest at Joe Robbie Stadium, it didn’t appear to be the Marlins’ night. Against Florida starter Pat Rapp, Sean Berry gave the Astros the early lead with a two-run double in the first inning. Orlando Miller led off the second with a solo home run before Craig Biggio added an RBI single later in the frame. Before some fans could sit down, Miller’s sacrifice fly in the third inning extended the Houston lead to 5-0. After three disappointing innings from Rapp on the mound, Florida interim manager John Boles didn’t hesitate to make a change as Kurt Abbott was called upon to hit for the Marlins starting pitcher to lead off the third. Abbott singled before scoring Florida’s first run on a balk. In fact, the Marlins would score four times in the bottom of the third inning to cut the deficit to one. Following a sacrifice fly from Devon White, Joe Orsulak singled home two. In the fourth, Gary Sheffield plated a run with a groundout and just like that, the teams were all square. The Marlins got two scoreless innings from reliever Donn Pall. In the bottom of the fifth, pinch hitter Alex Arias put Florida in front to stay with an RBI single. An errant throw from Derek Bell in right field allowed a second run to score and what had been a 5-0 deficit had become a 7-5 Florida lead. The Marlins, however, were far from done. In the sixth, RBI singles from White and Charles Johnson bookended an RBI triple from Terry Pendleton as the lead ballooned to 10-5. In the seventh, Édgar Rentería left the yard with a two-run home run before Pendleton plated his second run of the night with a single. Jesús Tavárez and White added RBI singles in the eighth to put the exclamation point on the win. As a team, the Marlins finished with a then franchise-record 24 hits. Sheffield and Pendleton each finished the night with four hits. At the top of the order, Quilvio Veras and Rentería each went 3-for-6 with three runs scored. While the Florida offense scored in six straight innings, the bullpen kept the Astros off the board over the final six frames. Pall earned the win while Donne Wall took the loss for Houston. Pall, David Weathers and Robb Nen combined to allow just two hits and one walk for the Marlins in relief. The record 24 hits for Florida would last nearly seven years before being broken by the 2003 World Series-winning team on July 1. It, however, remains the second-highest single-game hit total in team history. It occurred on this day three decades ago. View full article

Although not all good, Wrigley Field has held some dear memories for fans of the Florida/Miami Marlins. It’s the place where the club won its second National League pennant and most recent postseason series. While it didn’t quite bring that level of jubilation, the Florida Marlins picked up a victory worth remembering at the “Friendly Confines” on this day 15 years ago. Shut out for eight innings, the Marlins erupted for six runs in the ninth inning in a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. It didn’t appear as though it would be Florida’s night as the Marlins and Cubs opened a four-game set on July 14, 2011. Matt Garza had given the Cubs seven shutout innings before Sean Marshall worked a 1-2-3 eighth. As the contest shifted to the ninth, Chicago turned to right-hander Carlos Marmól with a 2-0 lead. An All-Star for the Cubs in 2008, Marmól walked the first three batters he faced while mixing in just one total strike. Against pinch hitter Greg Dobbs, the Chicago right-hander was able to finally find the strike zone, but the results were even worse. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Dobbs doubled down the right-field line, scoring two. A throwing error by Chicago’s Darwin Barney allowed a third run to score as the Marlins took the lead. Following another four-pitch walk – this one to Emilio Bonifácio – Marmól’s night was done. Florida’s big inning, however, wasn't done. With Florida now leading 3-2, Kerry Wood came in and walked Omar Infante. After Gaby Sánchez’s sacrifice fly extended the lead to 4-2, Hanley Ramírez singled home Bonifácio to push it to 5-2. Lefty James Russell then became the third Cubs pitcher to throw in the inning. Russell started by getting Logan Morrison to ground out. Following an intentional walk to Giancarlo (then known as "Mike") Stanton, Mike Cameron singled in Infante to cap a six-run inning. Now down 6-2, the Cubs did their best to make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Tony Campana and Geovany Soto opened with back-to-back singles off Juan Carlos Oviedo (then known as Leo Núñez). Although a run scored on a passed ball, Oviedo retired the next three batters to end the contest. Prior to the ninth, the Cubs’ runs had come courtesy of a Marlon Byrd solo home run in the second and a Barney hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Soto had four of the eight Chicago hits. Bonifácio and Infante each had two hits for the Marlins. The big ninth inning gave the Marlins the opener of what would be a four-game series at Wrigley. Florida ended up taking three of those contests. To that point in the season, the six runs in the ninth was the most that the Marlins had scored in any inning that season. They came on this day 15 years ago. View full article

An All-Star for the Minnesota Twins in 2023, Pablo López’s potential was evident during his time with the Miami Marlins. That was never more the case than on this day five years ago. On the one-year anniversary of his father’s death, López made history. The right-hander set a Major League Baseball record by striking out the first nine batters he faced in Miami’s 7-4 win over the Atlanta Braves. López threw a minimum number of pitches to record his first two strikeouts at loanDepot Park on July 11, 2021. Ehire Adrianza and Freddie Freeman each went down swinging to open the game. Ozzie Albies worked a seven-pitch at-bat but ultimately struck out swinging to end the top of the first inning. After López struck out the side in the first inning, the Marlins’ offense wasted little time giving him the lead as Jesús Aguilar took Ian Anderson deep for a three-run home run in the bottom of the first. In the top of the second, López missed an immaculate inning by one pitch as Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Dansby Swanson each struck out swinging. López needed just 12 pitches to get through the third inning. After striking out the first six batters swinging, Guillermo Heredia and Anderson each went down looking. In between, Kevan Smith fanned swinging for the second out. With the nine straight strikeouts to open the contest, López broke the previous record of eight held by Jim Deshaies (1986), Jacob deGrom (2014) and Germán Márquez (2018). After catcher Sandy León extended the Miami lead to 4-0 with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the third, Adrianza became the first Atlanta hitter to make contact against Lopez as he grounded out to open the fourth. The Braves broke up the shutout later in the inning with RBI singles from Albies and Arcia. Miami, however, had an answer. In the bottom of the fourth, Aguilar followed Garrett Cooper’s RBI double with an RBI single of his own to push the lead back to four at 6-2. López would work six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. He did not strike out a batter after the third inning. Swanson homered with two outs in the sixth inning before taking Anthony Bender deep in the ninth for a second solo blast to cap the scoring for Atlanta. Miguel Rojas capped the scoring for Miami with an RBI single in the sixth to score Jesús Sánchez. Sánchez and Rojas each finished with three of the 12 Miami hits in the win. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Aguilar added two hits apiece. Aguilar finished with four RBIs. The day, however, belonged to López. He became the first pitcher in baseball history to open a contest with nine straight strikeouts the first time through the order. They came on this day five years ago. View full article

An All-Star for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018, Jesús Aguilar hit his first career walk-off home run against the Miami Marlins. His final career walk-off blast came for the Marlins – on this day five years ago. Against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Aguilar took Edwin Uceta deep for the walk-off three-run blast. His shot capped a back-and-forth affair as Miami beat the Dodgers for the third straight night, 9-6. After early solo shots from Garrett Cooper and Jesús Sánchez gave the Marlins an early 2-0 lead at loanDepot Park on July 7, 2021. The Dodgers, however, used home runs from AJ Pollock, Mookie Betts and Justin Turner to push across five runs in the third inning and take a 5-2 lead. Miami was able to chip away. Aguilar’s two-run double in the third cut the lead to 5-4 before Jazz Chisholm tied the contest with an RBI groundout in the fifth. Cooper’s second solo home run of the night to lead off the bottom of the sixth put the Marlins back in front, 6-5. On the mound, Jordan Holloway and Anthony Bass combined for 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief as Miami took a 6-5 lead into the ninth. The Marlins turned to Anthony Bender on the mound. Bender managed to strike out the side but a solo home run by Zach McKinstry tied the game at 6 apiece. Against Uceta in the bottom of the ninth, Sandy León started things off with a single. After a sacrifice bunt from Chisholm, Starling Marte was intentionally walked. Uceta struck out Magneuris Sierra for the second out, leaving the game in the hands of Aguilar. Following a first pitch for a strike, Aguilar turned on Uceta’s high fastball, depositing it beyond the left-field wall for the walk-off three-run blast. The win was the third straight for Miami over Los Angeles. The Dodgers did manage to avoid the four-game sweep the following afternoon. Cooper finished with three hits for Miami while Aguilar and Sánchez each added two. Turner had three hits for the Dodgers. After hitting two walk-off homers for Milwaukee in 2018, Aguilar’s blast against the Dodgers served as the final walk-off blast of his career. It came on this day five years ago. View full article

With 267 home runs for the club, Giancarlo Stanton is the Florida/Miami Marlins’ all-time home run leader and by a wide margin. His first career walk-off shot came on this day 10 years ago. In a contest that the Florida Marlins had never previously led, Stanton (then known as Mike) took Danys Báez deep in the 10th inning. His blast to left capped the comeback as the Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6. After John Mayberry’s second home run of the night—a two-run shot—gave the Phillies a 6-3 lead at Sun Life Stadium, Florida had work to do as it came to bat in the bottom of the sixth on July 6, 2011. It took just seven pitches for the Marlins to get right back into it. With Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick done for the day, Hanley Ramírez lined David Herndon’s second pitch of the night into left field for a lead-off single in the sixth. Logan Morrison was then able to work the count to 3-1 before taking Herndon’s pitch the other way for an opposite-field two-run blast to cut the deficit to 6-5. Following a scoreless seventh from Florida lefty Randy Choate, Omar Infante’s one-out triple in the bottom of the inning put the tying run 90 feet away. Gaby Sánchez was able to draw a walk before Ramírez singled home Infante to tie the game. The Marlins managed to load the bases with one out, but Stanton grounded into a double play to end the threat. Choate, Steve Cishek, Juan Carlos Oviedo (then known as Leo Núñez) and Edward Mujica combined to keep the Phillies off the board over the next three innings. For the second straight inning in the bottom of the eighth, Florida was unable to take advantage of having a runner at third with one out. In the 10th, however, Stanton made sure the South Florida fans went home happy. Báez was able to get Morrison to ground out to start the bottom of the 10th but fell behind Stanton 2-1. Báez hung a breaking ball and Stanton responded with a rocket over the Teal Tower in left field. Infante and Ramírez each had three of the 14 Florida hits. Bryan Petersen added two hits in the win. In addition to Mayberry’s two home runs and three RBIs, Jimmy Rollins also had two hits and a solo homer for Philadelphia. With the win, the Marlins avoided the three-game sweep. Over his eight years with the franchise, Stanton had three walk-off home runs for the Marlins. His first and the only one at Sun Life Stadium came on this day 15 years ago. View full article

One of the youngest franchises in baseball, the Miami Marlins haven’t been a part of many “firsts” throughout Major League Baseball history. On this day, however, they did become the first team to win a sporting event on an active U.S. military base. On July 3, 2016, the Marlins drew the eyes on a nationally television audience for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The result was a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Braves at Fort Bragg Park on the U.S. base in North Carolina. For four innings, Miami’s Adam Conley and Atlanta’s Matt Wisler traded zeroes. The Marlins finally broke through in the top of the fifth. After Adeiny Hechavarría tripled on the first pitch of the inning, he came home for the first run on J.T. Realmuto’s RBI single. Realmuto, Martín Prado and Christian Yelich put together three straight singles to push the lead to 2-0. Conley capped his stellar start by working a 1-2-3 sixth inning. The Miami lefty allowed just four hits and one walk in six shutout innings to pick up the win. The Marlins added insurance runs over the next three innings. Prado singled home Realmuto in the seventh before Giancarlo Stanton tripled to lead off the eighth and scored on a Derek Dietrich sacrifice fly to push the lead to 4-0. Realmuto capped a three-hit, three-run, two-RBI night with a solo home run to lead off the ninth. After scoreless innings each from Marlins relievers David Phelps and Fernando Rodney, the Braves were able to break up the shutout with two runs off Miami close AJ Ramos in the ninth. Erick Aybar doubled in the first run before A.J. Pierzynski’s sacrifice fly scored Jeff Francoeur. The Marlins finished with 13 hits in the win to just five for Atlanta. Freddie Freeman and Aybar each had two hits for the Braves. At the top of the Marlins’ order, Realmuto, Prado and Yelich each had three hits. Hechavarría added two. The 5-2 triumph gave the Marlins the series victory. In addition to being the first sporting event ever played on an active U.S. military base, it was also the first MLB game played in the state of North Carolina. It ended in a Marlins victory on this day a decade ago. View full article

The 2013 National League Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, José Fernández is one of the most talented pitchers in Miami Marlins history. On this day 10 years ago, however, he reminded some that he could swing the bat as well. Called upon to pinch hit in the 12th inning, Fernández delivered the game-winning two-run double to lift the Miami Marlins past the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, 7-5. For 8 ½ innings, things looked pretty good for Miami on July 1, 2016. The Marlins took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth and with eventual All-Star AJ Ramos in to close it, Miami felt pretty good. On Ramos’ second pitch of the night, however, Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers went deep to tie the game. The Braves would put a runner on third with one out later in the inning, but Ramos was able to strike out Jace Peterson before getting Chase d'Arnaud to line out to end the threat. In the 10th inning, both teams left the go-ahead run in scoring position. In the 11th inning, both teams stranded a runner at first. Nick Wittgren had given Miami two scoreless innings of relief to get the contest to the 12th. In the top of the inning, Miguel Rojas lined a one-out single to start the rally. J.T. Realmuto followed by drawing a walk, but Adeiny Hechavarría flied out, leaving Marlins manager Don Mattingly with a decision to make. At the time, the designated hitter was not universal and with the pitcher’s spot up and no position players to pinch hit, Mattingly called on Fernández. On a 1-1 pitch, Fernández lined the offering from Atlanta’s Casey Kelly into the left-centerfield gap for the go-ahead two-run double, giving the Marlins a 7-5 lead. Dustin McGowan worked a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning to record the save. Things started well for Miami as a lead-off home run from Derek Dietrich and a two-run shot from Marcell Ozuna in the first gave the Marlins a 3-0 lead. After answering with two runs in the second, the Braves took their first lead in the fifth on d'Arnaud’s two-run blast. The last Miami runs of regulation came in the seventh as it regained the lead. Christian Yelich tied the game with an RBI double before coming around to score to give the Marlins a 5-4 lead on an Ozuna RBI single. Ozuna finished 4-for-6 with three RBIs in the win. Martin Prado added three hits for Miami. d'Arnaud, Flowers and Erick Aybar each had two hits for Atlanta. The biggest hit of the night, however, belonged to an All-Star starting pitcher who didn’t start that evening. For his career, Fernández was a .213 hitter with two home runs and 14 RBIs. In his lone extra-innings at-bat, Fernández delivered with a go-ahead hit. He did so on this day a decade ago. View full article

When one thinks about the early years of the Florida Marlins organization, there is perhaps no name more synonymous than Jeff Conine. Nicknamed, “Mr. Marlin,” Conine was one of the team’s early stars and is the only player to be present for each of the franchise's World Series celebrations. A native of California and a graduate of UCLA, Conine was born on June 27, 1966. He celebrates his 60th birthday today. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 58th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft, Conine had played in just 37 games in parts of two seasons with Kansas City before being selected by Florida in the 1992 expansion draft. Before long, Conine was one of the faces of a young franchise. His impact was instant. In Florida’s inaugural game—a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 5, 1993—Conine went 4-for-4 with two runs scored. Less than a month later, Conine hit his first career home run, which also served as the first Marlins grand slam in the history of Joe Robbie Stadium in a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. After hitting .292 with 12 home runs and 79 RBIs in 1993, Conine would make back-to-back All-Star Games for Florida in 1994 and 1995 – the only two selections of his career. Conine would get just one All-Star Game at-bat but made the most of it. His solo home run off Steve Ontiveros of the Oakland Athletics in the eighth inning of the 1995 All-Star Game in Arlington gave the National League a 3-2 win and earned Conine MVP honors. Excluding Kyle Stowers’ efforts in last year's “swing off,” Conine remains the lone Marlin to homer in the All-Star Game and their only MVP. After another solid campaign in 1996, Conine had his worst full season in the big leagues in 1997, but he still finished with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs as the Marlins won their first World Series. Despite a lackluster campaign by his lofty standards, Conine was instrumental in the Marlins’ success. In a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on April 17, Conine had the lone walk-off home run of his career -- and as a pinch hitter. In Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, Conine had the game-winning RBI in the seventh inning as Florida beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1 to take the series lead and move to within one win of its first pennant. Following the Marlins’ first title, Conine was traded back to the Royals. After one season back in Kansas City and parts of five with the Baltimore Orioles, which included a 97-RBI season in 2001, Conine made his return to South Florida midway through the 2003 season. With Mike Lowell nursing a hand injury, the Marlins needed another bat and Conine provided that. With the Marlins leading the Philadelphia Phillies by a game in the National League Wild Card chase on Sept. 23, Conine’s three-run home run tied the contest during what would be a five-run inning for Florida in a 5-4 win over Philadelphia. The following day, Conine homered again in a win over the Phillies and the Marlins took a three-game lead in the Wild Card race with four games left in the season. In the postseason, Conine batted .304 in 17 games, which included a solo shot against the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series as Florida won 4-0 to keep its season alive. The most memorable moment from Conine during the Marlins’ run to a second World Series title, however, was his throw from left field to gun down J.T. Snow at the plate for the final out in the Marlins’ National League Division Series-clinching win over the San Francisco Giants. Conine scored Florida’s final run of the season on a Juan Encarnación in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series—a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees to end the series. Conine spent two more seasons with the Marlins, helping the franchise achieve three straight winning seasons for the first time ever. In 2004, at the age of 38, Conine hit .280 with 14 homers and 83 RBIs. After two stints each with the Royals and Marlins, Conine returned to Baltimore for a second stint with the Orioles following the 2006 season. He would also play for the Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets over his final two seasons of 2006 and 2007. For his career, Conine spent parts of 17 seasons in the big leagues and parts of eight with the Marlins. A two-time All-Star, Conine had a better average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and more hits, home runs and RBIs for the Marlins than any other team. Since then, Conine has returned to the organization as a broadcaster and special assistant. In March 2025, he was inducted as the first member of the Miami Marlins Hall of Fame. His son, Griffin Conine, is currently an outfielder for the Marlins. View full article

As a 12-time All-Star, two-time MVP and the last Triple Crown winner, Miguel Cabrera was one hitter that no pitcher looked forward to facing. On this day 20 years ago, the Baltimore Orioles learned that even intentionally walking him wasn’t a sure thing. With the Orioles and Florida Marlins locked in a 5-5 tie in the 10th inning, Cabrera lined an intentional walk pitch that wasn’t far enough outside into centerfield for the go-ahead RBI as Florida completed a memorable comeback, 8-5. After Baltimore scored four runs in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie, the Marlins trailed 5-1 entering the top of the ninth at Camden Yards on June 22, 2006. Florida was able to force extra innings by answering with four runs in the inning. After singles by Cabrera and Jeremy Hermida chased LaTroy Hawkins, Baltimore turned to closer Chris Ray. Ray’s second pitch was hit by Josh Willingham for a sacrifice fly, but it also accounted for the second out. With Ray one strike away from ending it, Joe Borchard belted his 0-2 pitch the other way for a two-run home run to cut the lead to 5-4. Four pitches later, pinch hitter West Helms tied things up with a solo shot to left field. With the score now tied 5-5, Randy Messenger was able to strand the winning run at second in the bottom of the ninth to get the game to extra innings. On the first pitch from Baltimore’s Todd Williams in the top of the 10th, Hanley Ramírez legged out a bunt single. Following a groundout from Mike Jacobs one pitch later, Cabrera came to the plate with the go-ahead run on second and first base open. At the time, free passes were not automatic. Catcher Ramón Hernández stood way outside to signal an intentional walk, but his pitch was lobbed within arms’ reach of Cabrera. The Marlins third baseman stayed back and lined it to center, scoring Ramírez for the go-ahead run. That’s all that Florida would need, but not all it would get. Williams bounced back by striking out Ross before the Orioles turned to lefty Kurt Birkins. Birkins allowed a single to Hermida before plunking Josh Willingham on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Borchard followed by grounding one to short, but an errant throw from former MVP Miguel Tejada allowed two runs to score and just like that, the Marlins had gone from down to their last strike to up 8-5. In the bottom of the 10th, Joe Borowski needed just nine pitches to retire the Orioles in order and collect the save. Hermida finished with four hits and two runs scored in the win. Cabrera and Reggie Abercrombie each added two hits in the victory. Hernández had a pair of solo home runs for Baltimore, including a shot to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning. After splitting the first two games of the series, the thrilling comeback gave Florida the series victory. Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, Cabrera had plenty of big hits and moments. None, however, were quite like his winning single that came at Camden Yards on this day two decades ago. View full article

During the Atlanta Braves’ run of success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, lefty reliever John Rocker was an important but controversial figure. On this day 25 years ago, however, Derrek Lee and the Florida Marlins helped send him packing. In the final game of a four-game set, Lee’s two-run home run in the ninth would end Rocker’s tenure with the Braves. It also gave the Marlins a thrilling 3-2 victory and the series win. After taking two of the first three games from Atlanta, the Marlins were down to their last out at Turner Field on June 21, 2001. With the Braves leading 2-1 after eight innings, Rocker was given the ball to open the inning. The Atlanta lefty had retired Preston Wilson and Charles Johnson but a one-out walk to Kevin Millar put the tying run on base. With two outs and Millar at first, Lee was called upon to pinch hit. Lee was able to get ahead in the count against Rocker before turning on his 2-1 pitch. Lee’s shot cleared the wall in left-centerfield for the go-ahead two-run blast. Chipper Jones singled off Florida closer Antonio Alfonseca to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but the hefty right-hander was able to get Keith Lockhart to pop up before Rico Brogna grounded into a double play to end the game. Braden Looper retired Andruw Jones to end the eighth to earn the win. Prior to Lee’s shot, the Marlins never led. The Braves used productive outs in the second and fourth innings to take a 2-0 lead. Florida broke up the shutout in the fifth when Johnson’s sacrifice fly scored Wilson. Brian Jordan was 2-for-3 and scored both Atlanta runs. Eric Owens had two hits for Florida. As for Rocker, he posted a sub-three ERA in each of his first three seasons with the Braves. One day after giving up the go-ahead home run to Lee, however, the lefty was traded to the Cleveland Indians. He never would return to his early form. As a member of the Indians, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays over his final three seasons, Rocker went just 5-10 with a 6.00 ERA. His final game as a member of the Braves ended with Rocker blowing the save, taking the loss and giving up the go-ahead home run. It came on this day a quarter-century ago. View full article