The Florida Marlins beat the Giants
and then beat the Cubs to make it
to their second World Series since
their birth in 1993. But in Miami
they have a very small fan base
and no new stadium is in the
making and yes, this is a franchise
in serious trouble.

By Amaury Pi-GonzálezThe Marlins deserve to be in
the World Series they played
better than anybody else, they
hit in the cluth and Jack McKeon
did a great job with a bunch
of young players with little
or no Postseason experience.

Guys like Cabrera,Castillo,
Pierre,Beckett,Willis,Penny
all anchored by the great
veteran catcher Iván Rodríguez.
This Marlins team was 19-29
at the end of May but after
they fired Jeff Torborg and
named McKeon, they played
some of the best ball in
the National League.
They benefited because
nobody took them seriously
as a team that could win
in a division with the
Braves and Phillies and
yet they made it again
to a World Series as a
wild card. No, this 2003
team doesn’t have the
stars that the 1997 Marlins
had, no Kevin Brown,
Gary Sheffield, Edgar
Rentería, Robb Nen,
none of those solid
stars. But this 2003
Marlins team have more
speed at the top of
their lineup with
Pierre-Castillo than
anybody else in baseball
and some very young
promising players like
Venezuelan Miguel
Cabrera.

However, this season this
same Marlins team that is
filling out Pro Player Stadium
to the tune of 65,000 or more
fans per game during the
Postseason only averaged
16,000 per game (only Montreal
had a lower attendance in all
of baseball). Of course now
in the World Series there
are people coming from
Key West to see them
play. But how long will
that last ? I think not
long unless they
do build a new facility
in Miami. (More of that
later in this article)

Jeffrey Loria who only 2 years
ago was the owner of the
Montreal Expos is now the
owner of the Florida Marlins
and was responsible for bringing
72 year old manager Jack
McKeon. According to the
owner Loria “Nobody wanted
to sign McKeon because
of his age” and you thought
there was no age
discrimination in the majors?
McKeon is the oldest manager
to take a team to the
World Series.

In 1997 right after the Marlins
won the World Series against
the Cleveland Indians then
owner Wayne Huizenga
dismantled the team and
got rid of all their stars.
Baseball has never been
the same in Miami. The
1993 to 1997 season
ticket holders got rid
of their tickets after the
owner abandoned them.
Can you blame them ?
The Florida Marlins, even If
they win the World Series
have a very serious
marketing problem in
South Florida. They are
one of the franchises
that do need a new stadium
to attract people, in 2004
they’re going to have
just about the same team
as they have this season
and no major Free Agents
will be signed, it is Pudge
Rodríguez and Miguel
Cabrera all the way, the
past and the future that
will make or break this
franchise. They are
the underdogs in this
World Series (as they
should be) but if Pierre
and Castillo can keep
getting on base, they
can beat anybody.

Iván Rodríguez the future
Hall of Fame catcher of
the Marlins was the
Most Valuable Player
of the National League
Championship Series
against the Chicago
Cubs. My heart goes
out to all the Cubs fans,
these are real fans that
support their team every
season religiously. The
Cubs had a 3 to 1 game
advantage yet they
could not stop the
fighting young Marlins.
In my opinjon Jeffrey
Loria’s biggest positive
was to sign Iván Rodríguez
for 1 year for the sum
of $10 million dollars,
a real bargain for a
Hall of Fame catcher and
a leader of a young team
that refused to die in
the National League.
Under Rodríguez leadership
this young pitching staff
learned and made good
pitches when it counted,
in key situations. Pudge’s
bat has been the hottest
of all the teams in
Postseason this year and
with the World Series
starting this next weekend
there is no reason to
expect his bat to cool
off for a while…

I have been speaking to
people in Miami during
the past few years and
the truth is that no
stadium is in place for
this franchise, something
they desperately need
to stay in Miami.
They need to build a
Park closer to downtown
Miami and with a roof.,
It rains more in Miami
during the baseball season
than in any toehr city
in the Majors. Plus
Pro Player is almost
in Ft Lauderdale not
in Miami since it is
located in 199th Street.
Dusty Baker had great
starting pitching but was
very reluctant to go to
his weak bullpen and
it all depended on
guys like Prior and
Wood going all the
way. Dusty canot win
during the last two
Postseasons. Dusty was
criticized for taking out
Russ Ortiz ‘too early’
during game six of the
2002 World Series and
criticized again for leaving
Mark Prior on the mound
too long during game
six of the National
League Championship
Series. But, after all that
he still might win the
National League Manager
of the Year. Dusty and Alou
are the two main
candidates for that
award this year in the
National League.

My first job as a kid in
this country was as a
ball boy in Miami Stadium
then the Spring Training
home for the Baltimore
Orioles in 1961. Baseball in
South Florida has always
been a tough sell. This
is Football country,
at that Miami Stadium
(today named Bobby
Maduro Stadium for
a Cuban baseball
executive) located at
23rd Street and 8th
Avenue,North West
I saw a lot of Spring
Training games, and
even in the Spring
Training home of the
Orioles the Yankees
were the only team
to sell out that small
facility. Southern Florida
is still New York Yankee
territory.
Remember the Marlins
who might have 2 more
World Series rings than
the SF Giants at the
end of the month or
half of the rings the
A’S have since they
moved to Oakland are
still a “new”franchise
with only 10 years
in existence. And how
many generations of
Cubs or Red Sox fans
have never seen a
World Series ?

Can this Marlins team
win this 2004 World Series?
Of course they can. If the
Angels won the 2003 World
Series there is no reason
the Marlins canot win
this World Series that
is about to get started.

Anything is posible during
the World Series (or in the
Playoffs for that matter).

I worked two of the most
incredible World Series, for
me the most memorable.

1-1986. Boston vs NY Mets.
The famous six game Mookie
Wilson grounder through
the legs of Billy Buckner
and then the Mets won it
in the next game.

2-1988. Dodgers vs Athletics.
The Home run by Kirk Gibson
against Dennis Eckersley at
Dodger Stadium and the
great Orel Hershiser dominating
and winning the MVP. A supeior
A’S team beaten by a team
with guys like Mark Davis hitting
.230…. remember?

Anytime we arrive at this time
of the year and to the Fall
Classic a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g is
posible.

After the Giants and A’S
were eliminated I was
rooting for a Cubs vs Red
Sox World Series. Many
say that the day this
happens(will not be this
year obviously)the series
will be tied after 6 games
and then the world will
end…

Let’s hope for a nice clean
World Series. Adios !
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