Miami Marlins Team History

History of the Marlins

The Miami Marlins, previously known as the Florida Marlins, have a long and storied history in Major League Baseball. The team began in 1993 as the Florida Marlins, and they won two World Series titles before changing their name to the Miami Marlins in 2012. Since then, they have struggled to succeed in the field but remain essential to MLB's history.

The Florida Marlins first entered into existence when Wayne Huizenga purchased a majority stake of Joe Robbie Stadium from H. Wayne Huizenga for 95 million dollars on June 10th, 1991, with plans to bring baseball back to South Florida after it had been absent since 1972 when the Washington Senators moved away from Dade County Stadium (now known as Hard Rock Stadium). After being granted an expansion franchise by Major League Baseball on July 5th, 1993, with former San Francisco Giants executive Carl Barger serving as its president, construction quickly began at what would become Pro Player Park (later renamed Dolphins Stadium) which opened up for play during March 2nd-3rd 1994 exhibition games against the Los Angeles Dodgers & Atlanta Braves, respectively, while hosting its first regular season game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 5th, 1994 where Orestes Destrade hit a home run off Ramon Martinez, making him the first Marlin ever to record a home run!

In 1997, under manager Jim Leyland and future Hall of Fame pitcher Kevin Brown leading the way, the team made the playoffs for the first time, going with a 92–70 record, winning a wild card spot, and clinching on October 3rd against the Montreal Expos! The team went on to defeat the Cleveland Indians in a 4–3 NLDS series, advancing to the NLCS and facing the defending champion Atlanta Braves. They ultimately lost 4–2, falling just short of capturing the championship title that year. However, this set the stage for becoming one of the most successful franchises in the early 2000s decade, winning the 2003 World Series over the New York Yankees, capping off an incredible run of four playoff appearances in six years. They followed this with another World Series title in 2007, beating the heavily favored American League champions Boston Red Sox, sweeping them in four straight games and cementing this organization’s place among the greatest teams of the modern era of baseball!

Despite having experienced great success in the past couple of decades, unfortunately, recent years haven't been kind to the Marlins. They have missed the playoffs for the last ten seasons, despite occasional flashes of promise, such as the 2017 campaign led by Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, who combined for a total of 111 home runs and helped lead the club to 77 wins. However, they were still not able to secure a postseason berth, yet providing hope for a brighter future ahead. Miami fans and alike will never forget the fondly golden age of the 1990s and early 2000s that brought the city two championships and many unforgettable memories along the way.