Before Christian Yelich was an MVP, he was a star on the rise with the Miami Marlins.

Yelich was a late 2010 First Round Pick in 2010, and the Californian made his first appearance in the Majors three years later.  Playing at Leftfield, Yelich became a starter with the Marlins in 2014, winning a Gold Glove with a 165-Hit, .2984 Batting Average.  Yelich had another season in 2015, and in 2016, he increased his power stats to 21 Home Runs, captured a Silver Slugger while still flirting with a .300 BA (.298). 

Yelich had his second straight 170 Hit year in 2017, and he secured another year where he belted over 18 Home Runs, 80 RBIs, and batted over .280.  He was a star on the rise, but as what was typical with the Marlins, he was traded away, his case being Milwaukee, where he would win the MVP.

With the Marlins, Yelich had 719 Hits with a .290 Batting Average.

In an earlier entry, we mentioned that Luis Castillo is one of three Marlins to have won both of the Marlins’ World Series titles, but only one of the three was a starter in both.  That man in Jeff Conine.

Conine would become an original Marlin, taken in the Expansion Draft from Kansas City after appearing in 37 Games for the Royals.   He would become a starter at Leftfield for the Marlins, participating in all 162 Games and finishing third in National League Rookie of the Year voting.  Conine had 174 Hits that year, a career-high, but he was a more complete player over the next two seasons, going to the All-Star Game in both years with .300 years.  Conine belted at least 25 Home Runs in 1995 and 1996, and he was established as one of the better players on the Marlins roster.

1997 was a strange year in Baseball, mainly because the Marlins, a team that was only in existence for four years, winning it all.  Conine had his weakest year to date, but he was a solid part of their championship.  The Marlins unloaded all of their stars, including Conine, who was sent to Kansas City.

Late in the 2003 Season, he was traded back to Florida (this time from Baltimore), and he helped them win their second World Series Title.  Conine played for the Marlins until he rejoined the Orioles as a Free Agent after the 2006 Season.

With the Marlins, Conine had 1,005 Hits, 120 Home Runs with a Slash Line of .290/.358/.455.

A member of the rare 500 Home Run club, Gary Sheffield accomplished that feat over eight teams, with two of them being clubs he had at least 100 HR.  The Marlins were one of those teams.

The Marlins were Sheffield’s third team, and he was traded from San Diego to Florida midway during their expansion season.  Sheffield had the power, speed and average, and he had his best season with the Marlins in 1996.  That year, he smacked 42 Home Runs, 120 RBIs, and led the NL in OBP (.465), OPS (1.090) and OPS+ (189).  Sheffield won the Silver Slugger that year, and was sixth in MVP voting.

Sheffield had a down year in 1997, but it didn’t end that way.  The Marlins shocked everyone by winning the World Series in only their fourth year of existence, with Sheffield hitting a Home Run in every series.  There should have been so much more for Sheffield in South Beach, but right after the Marlins won it all, they went into garage sale mode, with Sheffield being traded during the ’98 season to the Dodgers.

Mike Lowell arrived in South Florida in early 1999 as a trade acquisition from the Yankees, a local product who had briefly tasted the Bronx spotlight before being moved to his hometown team. While he joined a club still finding its post-1997 identity, he quickly established himself as a professional mainstay at the hot corner.

After securing the starting job in 1999, Lowell demonstrated a high-frequency ability to drive in runs, recording his first 20-home-run season in 2000, and earned three consecutive All-Star selections between 2002 and 2004.  The meat of his All-Star sandwich (2003) was Lowell’s best season in the Majors.  He posted career-highs in home runs (32), RBIs (105), and slugging percentage (.530). He earned a Silver Slugger Award and finished 11th in the MVP voting, providing the high-caliber offensive engine that pushed Florida toward a Wild Card berth. Despite a localized setback late in the year with a broken hand, he returned to provide a veteran presence that aided the Marlins in capturing their second World Series title.

Lowell was also excellent defensively. Between 1999 and 2005, he was a fixture at third base, consistently hovering near the top of the defensive leaderboards. While his offensive volume dipped in 2005, he showed the organization he was still a high-caliber asset by winning his first career Gold Glove Award.

As is almost always the case with veterans, Lowell was traded to the Boston Red Sox alongside Josh Beckett.  With the Marlins, Lowell had 965 hits, 143 home runs, and a career .272 batting average.