In
life we do a lot of looking back and over the course of life we say
things like “Wow that was ten years ago” this is one of those
times. In the year of 2003 I was 8 years old attending Dania
Elementary with not a care in the world. It was also the year that My
childhood's favorite baseball team captured a World Series when the
underdog Florida Marlins shocked the World by beating the powerhouse
New York Yankees in 6 games. It has already been 10 years and I
remember it like yesterday celebrating in the streets of Miami.
The
2003 Florida Marlins are one of the reasons I fell in love with
sports they proved the world wrong and made the media look like
idiots who thought the match up between them and the Yankees was a
mismatch. Looking back on it now that Team was very well structured
from top to bottom in all facets of the game.
At
the Top you had the Speed Duo of Luis Castillo and Juan Pierre who
combined for 391 Hits 76 stolen bases 199 runs scored while batting
well over 300. They were Perfect table setters for guys Like Mike
Lowell Pudge Rodriguez,Derek Lee to Knock them in and they did. They
were a productive line up who played small ball and manufactured
runs.
But
things didn't start all fine and dandy for the fish they got off to a
16-22 start which led to the firing of Jeff Torberg. Jack Mckeon was
summoned to take place of Torberg, “Trader Jack” as he is known
had been in Baseball longer then most of the Young Marlins roster had
been alive. The team went an Impressive 75-49 under Jack which added
up to a 91-71 record and a Wild Card Birth. They got there by
playing loose, Hard and more importantly playing the game the right
way.
In
the Middle of that 75-49 record for Jack Mckeon were 2 young
mid-season rookie Call-ups named Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis
that Heavily contributed to the success of the 03 Marlins. Cabrera a
20 year old kid at the time exploded on the Scene with an 11th
inning walk off Homerun off of Al Levine. Dontrelle Willis
Electrified South Florida and the rest of the MLB with his high
unorthodox leg kick which led him to a 14-6 record, All-Star
Appearance and the 2003 Rookie of the year award. The Kid from
Oakland was a fan favorite, The Kid from Venezuela was a young
superstar in the making. The 2 kids were some of the best players to
ever put on a Marlins jersey.
The
Post season for the 2003 Marlins was filled with Signature moments.
From the Collision at the plate between Pudge and J.T Snow in the
Division series to Steve Bartman the Marlins seem to have everything
going for them. If you look at the 3 teams the Marlins beat in the
post season they feature the Games most prolific stars of the last 15
years (Derek Jeter, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa). All 3 series had the
opposing teams heavily favored over Florida but we all know how that
ended.
The
success of the team was short lived though as owner Jeffery Loria had
most of the team gone before the start of the 2006 season. The Legacy
of this team still remains though.
- 2003 World Series Champions
- Stolen base leader (Juan Pierre-65)
- 3 Gold gloves (Luis Castillo, Derek Lee, Mike Lowell)
- 3 All-Stars (Dontrelle Willis, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo)
- Rookie of the year (Dontrelle Willis)
- Manager of the year (Jack Mckeon)
