Top 50 Miami Marlins
Along with the Colorado Rockies, the Florida Marlins came into existence in 1993, although they have been far more successful than their expansion counterparts.
The Marlins won the Pennant in only their fourth year of existence, but surely, they could not beat the New York Yankees for the World Series! Florida did precisely that, shocking the world, and then they surprised everyone by conducting a fire sale, dismantling the team, and starting from scratch.
Florida again built a good team in 2003 and once again befuddled the baseball world by winning their second World Series. True to form, they repeated what they did after 1997 by cost-cutting and getting rid of the parts that won it for them.
Since that time, the Marlins changed their team name to the Miami Marlins but have remained to operate as a small market team.
This list is up to the end of the 2023 regular season.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
Steve Cishek first made the Marlins roster three years after he was drafted in 2007 and the year after he was called up again to stay. Pegged as a Relief Pitcher from the beginning, Cishek moved into the closer's role during the 2012 Season and would lead the National League in Games Finished (62) and had 34 Saves. Cishek compiled 39 Saves in 2014, though his ERA climbed over three. That would be his last full year with Miami, as he was traded to St. Louis the following summer. Cishek finished 191 Games for the Marlins with 94 Saves.
One of the most fascinating people to rank on a list of all-time Marlins is Livan Hernandez, the star of the 1997 Playoffs. Hernandez began his career with Florida, signed by the Marlins after the Cuban defected to the United States in 1995. He appeared in one Game in 1996 and made it to the starting rotation during the 1997 season, finishing the year with a 9-3 Record and a 3.18 ERA. Florida made the playoffs, and Hernandez was incredible, winning the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP, going 4-0 overall. Hernandez struggled the year after and was traded to San Francisco…
Jazz Chisholm, who debuted for Miami in 2020, is one of the most entertaining baseball players to watch. He is also one of the fastest players to ever grace the diamond. In 2021, Chisholm became the permanent Second Baseman and had a decent year, collecting 115 hits, 18 home runs and 23 stolen bases. He was named to the All-Star Game the following year, but unfortunately, an injury took him out of the mid-season contest and the rest of the year. Injuries continued to plague him last year, with Chisholm appearing in only 97 games. However, he still managed to…
Redmond was one of the rare Americans in the modern era to make the Majors without being drafted, a feat he accomplished five years after the Florida Marlins signed him in their inaugural year. The Catcher cracked the Marlins roster in 1998 and found a role as a backup and defensive specialist. Although Redmond would never qualify for a Batting Title, he could get on base, batting over .300 three times as a Marlin, though his Hits were rarely more than a single. He had 380 Hits over seven seasons with Florida, ending his Marlins run when he signed with the Twins…
The ninth player taken in the 1996 Baseball Amateur Draft, Mark Kotsay, appeared in 14 Games the year after, but he was not on the roster that won the 1997 World Series. As the Marlins conducted a fire sale after the title, Kotsay was elevated to one of Florida’s starting Outfielders, and he held his own for the next three years. Kotsay batted over .270 in all three of his full campaigns as a Marlin, which was decent, but he did not draw enough walks and had only 31 Hone Runs in this stretch, a number that was low for his…
We are very aware that Luis Arraez has only been with Miami for one year, but as we have said before:The Marlins have not been around long.They don’t keep good players when it is time for them to get paid.As such, Arraez is here after a season where he eclipsed what he did in his last year in Minnesota, where he also won a Batting Title but did so after flirting with .400 (he finished with .354). He also had an OPS of .861, which was impressive for a man with only 10 Home Runs. Arraez also went to his…
Antonio Alfonseca is arguably the most unlikely single-season Saves leader in the modern era, but he still accomplished what many relievers never did. Alfonseca was in the Montreal Expos organization when he was chosen by the Florida Marlins in the Minor League Draft after the 1993 Season. The Dominican Pitcher was called up during the 1997 Season, and he played a minor role in Florida’s World Series win. Alfonseca played more for the Marlins in 1998, saving eight Games, and he had 21 as he moved into the closer’s role in 1999. In 2000, Alfonseca closed out a league-leading 45 Games, but…
Usually, established veterans are traded from Miami and not to them, but the Marlins bucked that trend when they acquired Martin Prado after the 2014 Season. Playing at Third Base, Prado brought Miami leadership and a solid bat for his first two years as a Marlin. Prado batted .288 and .305 in those years while still decent in the field. Following the 2016 Season, Prado was constantly injured, reduced to only 91 Games combined in 2017 and 2018, and although he was healthier in 2019, Prado's skills deteriorated, and he retired the year after. With Miami, Prado batted .278 with 467 Hits.
Henderson Alvarez was one of the many players that the Miami Marlins acquired from Toronto in the 12-player transaction after the 2012 Season, and for a brief time, it looked like Alvarez was going to be the best player they netted. In his first year as a Marlin, a shoulder injury kept Alvarez to only 17 Starts, but he was decent with a 3.59 ERA over 102.2 Innings, which was bolstered by a no-hitter in the season finale. Alvarez had his best season in Baseball in 2013 with a 12-7 Record with a 2.65 ERA. The Venezuelan went to the All-Star Game…
Oft-injured with the Toronto Blue Jays, Al Leiter bolted from the Jays as a Free Agent in 1996 for the sunnier skies of Florida. It was there where he was finally healthy and showed what he was capable of all along. Leiter posted a 16-12 Record with an ERA of 2.93 in his first Marlins year, and he was an All-Star for the first time in his career. The year after, Leiter was not as good (11-9 4.324 ERA), but he was part of a rotation that took Florida all the way to the World Series, which they won by beating the…
A ten-year veteran in the Majors, Pat Rapp played half of that timeframe with the Florida Marlins. Rapp began his career with the San Francisco Giants, appearing in three Games in 1992 before the Marlins took him in the Expansion Draft. He made the starting rotation, with his best year with Florida coming in 1995, when Rapp went 14-7 with a 3.44 ERA. He was traded back to San Francisco during the 1997 Season, with Rapp going 37-43 with the Marlins.
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A Bronze Medalist at the 1996 Olympics, Braden Looper was the third overall pick in that year’s draft, selected by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made the Redbirds two years later, appearing in four Games, but that would close the book on his first St. Louis run, as Looper was traded to the Marlins in that off-season. Looper joined Florida's bullpen, where he would stay for five years. While he was not the most consistent Pitcher, he would eventually be given a chance to be the team's closer, saving 28 Games in 2003 and 46 overall with 170 Games Finished as a…