2008 Florida Marlins

The Florida Marlins’ last place finish in the NL East in the 2007 MLB season meant that something needed to change – and to that end only seven Marlins from the 2005 team are still around for the 2008 season. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz was replaced by Mark Wiley, but the real excitement centered around the trade of two of the Marlins’ biggest players – third baseman Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis – for six players from the Detroit Tigers: CF Cameron Maybin, catcher Mike Rabelo, and pitchers Andrew Miller, Eulogio De La Cruz, Burke Bradenhop and Dallas Trahern. Will the risky move pay off? See for yourself with tickets to Dolphin Stadium to see the Florida Marlins in action in 2008.

A Promising Beginning

The Marlins began play in 1993 as part of baseball’s first expansion in decades. The Marlins arrival in Miami meant that for the first time Major League baseball would be played in Florida AFTER spring training. Despite being an expansion team the Marlins managed to avoid last place in 1993.

World Series Winner

The Marlins steadily improved over those first few years until 1997 when they finally broke through and made it to the postseason by capturing the NL Wild Card. Once in the playoffs the team made the most of it by defeating the Cleveland Indians in an exciting 7 game series. That team was led by pitchers Kevin Brown, Alex Fernandez, Al Leiter, and Livan Hernandez, who also won the World Series MVP. Manager Jim Leyland provided a steady influence all season and the Marlins became the fastest expansion team to ever win the World Series.

Unfortunately for the fans, salary concerns forced management to break the team up following the World Series…and the team went on to lose over 100 games in 1998. It wasn’t long before the team became competitive again and in 2003 they won the Wild Card again. The 2003 team, with an entirely new roster, once again reached the World Series from the Wild Card spot and won once more.