From Florida Expansion Team to Two-Time World Series Champions
The Miami Marlins are one of Major League Baseball’s youngest franchises, but they have accomplished something many older organizations have never done: win multiple World Series championships.
The franchise began as the Florida Marlins in 1993. In 2012, the organization became the Miami Marlins and moved into the new Marlins Park, now called loan Depot park.
In only their fifth season, the Marlins won the 1997 World Series. Six years later, they captured another championship in 2003.
The Marlins have also produced or employed numerous Hall of Famers, MVPs, Rookie of the Year winners and stars who went on to accomplish great things elsewhere.
The Beginning of the Marlins
Miami’s pursuit of Major League Baseball finally succeeded when MLB awarded the city an expansion franchise in 1991.
The team was originally called the Florida Marlins and began play in 1993.
The franchise’s first owner was businessman H. Wayne Huizenga, who was also associated with the Miami Dolphins .
The Marlins played their first regular-season game on April 5, 1993, with veteran knuckleballer Charlie Hough making the first start in franchise history.
The team immediately became a major attraction in South Florida.
Marlins Ownership History
The Marlins have had four principal ownership eras.
Years
Principal Owner/Ownership Group
1993-1998
H. Wayne Huizenga
1999-2001
John Henry
2002-2017
Jeffrey Loria
2017-present
Bruce Sherman-led ownership group
H. Wayne Huizenga — 1993-1998
Huizenga was the original owner of the Marlins.
His ownership group spent heavily before the 1997 season and assembled a team that eventually won the franchise’s first World Series.
Huizenga’s aggressive spending made the 1997 Marlins a championship club almost immediately.
John Henry — 1999-2001
John Henry purchased the Marlins following the 1998 season.
His ownership lasted only three seasons before he sold the club.
Jeffrey Loria — 2002-2017
Jeffrey Loria purchased the Marlins before the 2002 season.
Under Loria, the Marlins won their second World Series in 2003.
Loria also oversaw the construction of the new Miami ballpark and the transition from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins.
Bruce Sherman and the 2017 ownership group
A group led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter purchased the Marlins from Loria for approximately $1.2 billion in 2017.
Sherman became principal owner while Jeter became CEO and held a minority ownership interest.
Jeter left the organization in February 2022 and sold his ownership interest, leaving Sherman as the principal owner.
As of 2026, Bruce Sherman remains the principal owner of the Miami Marlins.
Marlins Home Ballparks
The Marlins have had two primary home stadiums.
Joe Robbie Stadium / Pro Player Stadium / Sun Life Stadium — 1993-2011
The Marlins began playing at the football stadium that eventually became known by several names.
The stadium was originally called Joe Robbie Stadium.
It was later renamed:
Pro Player Stadium
Dolphin Stadium
Land Shark Stadium
Sun Life Stadium
The Marlins played their first 19 seasons there.
The stadium had a baseball capacity of approximately 47,000.
Most importantly, it was the home of the 1997 and 2003 World Series championship teams.
Marlins Park — 2012-2020
The Marlins moved into their own baseball stadium in 2012.
The retractable-roof facility was called Marlins Park.
It was designed specifically for baseball and had a capacity of approximately 37,000.
The stadium hosted the 2017 MLB All-Star Game.
loan Depot park — 2021-present
In 2021, the stadium received a new naming-rights agreement and became loanDepot park.
The ballpark remains the home of the Miami Marlins.
It has a listed capacity of 37,442.
The 1997 World Series Champions
The 1997 Marlins produced one of the most unlikely championship stories in baseball.
Florida finished the regular season 92-70 and entered the postseason as the National League Wild Card team.
The Marlins defeated:
San Francisco Giants
Atlanta Braves
Cleveland Indians
The World Series went seven games.
Florida won Game 7 in the 11th inning when Edgar Renteria’s single scored Craig Counsell.
The Marlins became the first Wild Card team to win the World Series.
1997 World Series
Florida Marlins defeated Cleveland Indians, 4-3
World Series MVP
Liván Hernández
The rookie pitcher became the World Series MVP after helping Florida win its first championship.
The Great 1997 Marlins Team
The championship roster included:
Jeff Conine, Moises Alou, Bobby Bonilla, Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Edgar Renteria,
Craig Counsell, Luis Castillo, Liván Hernández, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, and Robb Nen
The Marlins had built an extremely talented roster.
But the championship team would not stay together for long.
After the 1997 season, ownership dramatically reduced payroll.
Many of the championship players were traded or allowed to leave.
That became one of the most controversial periods in franchise history.
2003 World Series Champions
Six years after the first championship, the Marlins did it again.
The 2003 club was much different.
It was built around young stars and talented veterans.
Among the key players were:
Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Lowell, ,Luis Castillo, Juan Pierre,
Jeff Conine, Ivan Rodriguez, Derrek Lee, Juan Encarnacion, Ugueth Urbina
The team finished 91-71.
After firing manager Jeff Torborg, the Marlins hired veteran manager Jack McKeon, who was 72 years old.
McKeon guided the young club through an incredible second half of the season.
The Marlins defeated:
San Francisco Giants
Chicago Cubs
New York Yankees
in the postseason.
2003 World Series
Florida Marlins defeated New York Yankees, 4-2
The championship was secured at Yankee Stadium.
In Game 6, Josh Beckett threw a complete-game shutout on three days’ rest.
Florida won 2-0.
Beckett became the 2003 World Series MVP.
The victory gave Florida its second World Series championship.
Marlins World Series Record
The Marlins have played in the World Series twice.
Year
Opponent
Result
1997
Cleveland Indians
Won 4-3
2003
New York Yankees
Won 4-2
World Series Championships
2
1997
Florida Marlins
2003
Florida Marlins
The remarkable part of the Marlins’ history is that they have won every World Series they have reached.
Their record is:
2 appearances — 2 championships
Marlins Cooperstown Hall of Fame Players
The Marlins have had a surprisingly large number of future Hall of Famers pass through the organization.
The following players have played for the Florida/Miami Marlins and are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Player
Marlins Years
Hall Class
Birthplace
Cleveland Indians
1995-96
2010
Miami, Florida
Mike Piazza
1998
2016
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Tim Raines
2002
2017
Sanford, Florida
Ivan Rodriguez
2003
2017
Manatí, Puerto Rico
Trevor Hoffman
1993
2018
Bellflower, California
Jim Thome
2009
2018
Peoria, Illinois
Ichiro Suzuki
2015-17
2025
Kasugai, Japan
The Marlins’ own historical records identify Hoffman, Raines, Rodriguez, Piazza and Dawson as Hall of Famers who played for the organization. Ichiro and Thome also later became Cooperstown inductees.
Andre Dawson
Hometown/Birthplace: Miami, Florida
Dawson played the final two seasons of his career with the Florida Marlins in 1995 and 1996.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Dawson finished his career with 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI and 314 stolen bases.
Interestingly, Dawson was a longtime Montreal Expo and Chicago Cub, and his greatest accomplishments came before joining Florida.
Mike Piazza
Hometown/Birthplace: Norristown, Pennsylvania
Piazza’s Marlins career was one of the shortest in baseball history for a future Hall of Famer.
Florida acquired Piazza from the Dodgers on May 14, 1998.
He played only five games for the Marlins.
Eight days after acquiring him, Florida traded him to the New York Mets.
Piazza was elected to Cooperstown in 2016.
His Marlins tenure is little more than a footnote in an otherwise legendary career.
Tim Raines
Hometown/Birthplace: Sanford, Florida
Raines returned to his home state late in his career, playing for the Florida Marlins in 2002.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Raines finished his career with:
2,605 hits
1,571 runs
1,330 walks
808 stolen bases
He also played for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos, Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles.
Ivan Rodriguez
Hometown/Birthplace: Manatí, Puerto Rico
“Iván Pudge” Rodriguez joined the Marlins in 2003.
He became a major part of the championship team and was named NLCS MVP.
Rodriguez was elected to Cooperstown in 2017.
His one season in Florida ended with a World Series championship.
Trevor Hoffman
Hometown/Birthplace: Bellflower, California
Hoffman began his career with the Florida Marlins in 1993.
He pitched in only nine games for Florida before being traded to San Diego.
He became one of the greatest closers in baseball history.
Hoffman finished his career with:
601 saves
He was elected to Cooperstown in 2018.
The Marlins therefore traded away a future Hall of Fame closer before he became a star.
Jim Thome
Hometown/Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois
Thome played briefly for the Marlins in 2009.
He was elected to Cooperstown in 2018.
Most of his Hall of Fame career was spent with Cleveland and Philadelphia, but his short Miami stint makes him another Cooperstown player associated with the franchise.
Ichiro Suzuki
Hometown/Birthplace: Kasugai, Japan
Ichiro played for the Marlins from 2015 through 2017.
He was elected to Cooperstown in 2025.
His Marlins years came late in his career, but he still produced memorable moments and became a fan favorite.
Ichiro finished his MLB career with 3,089 hits, 509 stolen bases and 10 Gold Glove Awards.
Marlins MVP Winners
The Marlins have had one National League MVP winner.
Giancarlo Stanton — 2017
Stanton had an extraordinary 2017 season.
He hit:
59 home runs
with:
132 RBI
He became the first Marlins player since the franchise began in 1993 to win the National League MVP Award.
Stanton’s 59 home runs remain one of the greatest single-season power performances in franchise history.
Marlins Rookie of the Year Winners
The Marlins have had four National League Rookie of the Year winners.
Player
Position
Year
Dontrelle Willis
Pitcher
2003
Hanley Ramirez
Shortstop
2006
Chris Coghlan
Outfielder
2009
José Fernández
Pitcher
2013
Dontrelle Willis — 2003
Willis immediately became one of baseball’s biggest young stars.
He helped the Marlins win the 2003 World Series and later won 22 games in 2005, a franchise single-season record.
Hanley Ramirez — 2006
Ramirez became one of the best young shortstops in baseball.
He won Rookie of the Year in 2006 and later won the National League batting championship in 2009.
Chris Coghlan — 2009
Coghlan won the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award after an outstanding debut season.
José Fernández — 2013
Fernández became one of baseball’s most electrifying young pitchers.
He won Rookie of the Year in 2013 and quickly became an All-Star.
His career was tragically cut short in 2016.
Players the Marlins Traded Before They Became Stars
The Marlins have one of the most remarkable histories of trading players who later became stars or Hall of Famers.
Trevor Hoffman
This may be the biggest example.
Florida selected Hoffman in the 1992 Expansion Draft.
He pitched for the Marlins in 1993.
Florida then traded him to San Diego as part of the deal that brought Gary Sheffield to Miami.
Hoffman became a Hall of Fame closer with the Padres.
He eventually recorded 601 saves.
Adrian González
Adrian González was drafted by the Florida Marlins in 2000.
The Marlins later traded him to Texas before he established himself as a major-league star.
González eventually became a five-time All-Star and one of the most productive first basemen of his generation.
This is another example of a highly regarded young player leaving the organization before reaching his full potential.
Christian Yelich
The Marlins drafted Christian Yelich in 2010.
He became a star in Miami and won the 2017 NL MVP runner-up award before being traded to Milwaukee after the 2017 season.
Yelich then won the National League MVP Award in 2018, his first season with the Brewers.
He later won another MVP in 2019.
The Marlins therefore developed an MVP-caliber player who won the award shortly after leaving Miami.
Miguel Cabrera
Miguel Cabrera is slightly different because he was already a star when the Marlins traded him.
Cabrera made his Major League debut with Florida in 2003 and helped the Marlins win the World Series as a rookie.
By the time Florida traded him to Detroit in December 2007, he was already a four-time All-Star.
But the trade is still one of the most important in franchise history because Cabrera went on to become a two-time American League MVP and Triple Crown winner.
Florida traded Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for six players, including Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.
Neither Maybin nor Miller became the star Florida expected.
Cabrera became one of the greatest hitters of his generation.
Mike Piazza
Piazza was already a superstar when Florida acquired him, so he doesn’t fit the “traded before becoming a star” category.
However, his story belongs in Marlins trade history because Florida acquired a future Hall of Famer and traded him away only eight days later.
The trade ultimately became part of a complicated chain of transactions that eventually helped the organization acquire players involved in the 2003 championship era.
The Gary Sheffield Trade
One of the most important early trades in franchise history brought Gary Sheffield to Florida.
The Marlins acquired Sheffield and pitcher Rich Rodriguez from San Diego in 1993.
Trevor Hoffman was part of the package sent to San Diego.
Sheffield became one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League and a central figure in the development of the young franchise.
Hoffman, meanwhile, became a Hall of Fame closer.
It became a classic example of a trade in which both sides ultimately received a major player.
The Marlins’ Great 1997 Sell-Off
After winning the 1997 World Series, Florida dismantled much of its championship roster.
Players who left included:
Moises Alou
Kevin Brown
Al Leiter
Robb Nen
Jeff Conine
Devon White
Bobby Bonilla
Gary Sheffield
The organization essentially rebuilt itself.
That pattern would occur again following the 2003 championship.
The Marlins and the 2003 Championship Core
The 2003 club developed several stars internally.
Miguel Cabrera
A rookie in 2003, Cabrera became one of baseball’s greatest hitters.
Dontrelle Willis
The Rookie of the Year became a two-time All-Star.
Josh Beckett
The 2003 World Series MVP became a three-time All-Star and later won another World Series with Boston.
Mike Lowell
Lowell became a three-time All-Star with Florida.
Luis Castillo
Castillo became a three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner with the Marlins.
The 2007 Miguel Cabrera Trade
The Marlins traded Cabrera and Willis to Detroit after the 2007 season.
At the time, Cabrera was only 24 years old and already had four All-Star selections.
Detroit acquired two young stars, while Florida received six players.
The trade did not work out as Miami hoped.
Cabrera went on to win:
2 AL MVP Awards
1 Triple Crown
4 batting titles
World Series championship
He eventually became a first-ballot-type Hall of Fame caliber player.
The Giancarlo Stanton Era
Giancarlo Stanton became the face of the Marlins during the 2010s.
He possessed extraordinary power and became one of the greatest home-run hitters of his generation.
His 2017 season was the best individual offensive season in franchise history.
2017 Stanton
59 HR
132 RBI
.281 average
.631 slugging percentage
He won the National League MVP Award.
The following offseason, Miami traded Stanton to the New York Yankees.
José Fernández
José Fernández was one of the most talented young pitchers ever developed by the Marlins.
He won Rookie of the Year in 2013.
He made three All-Star teams.
He won the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year Award and established himself as one of the most exciting players in baseball.
His career ended tragically when he died in a boating accident in September 2016.
The Marlins retired his No. 16 in 2017.
The 2017 Marlins
The 2017 season was memorable for two very different reasons.
Giancarlo Stanton won the MVP.
Miami also had a historic outfield featuring:
Stanton
Christian Yelich
Marcell Ozuna
All three were tremendous players.
After the season, however, the organization entered another major rebuilding period.
Stanton was traded to the Yankees.
Yelich was traded to Milwaukee.
Ozuna was traded to St. Louis.
Within a short time, Miami had dismantled one of baseball’s best young outfields.
The 2023 Playoff Return
The Marlins returned to the postseason in 2023.
It was significant because Miami had endured a lengthy postseason drought.
The club finished 84-78 and qualified for the playoffs as a Wild Card team.
The Marlins lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series.
The appearance ended a long wait for another postseason berth.
The Marlins Legends Hall of Fame
The organization created the Marlins Legends Hall of Fame to honor important figures in franchise history.
The program recognizes players, coaches, managers and other people who made major contributions to the organization.
Among the most important Marlins legends are:
Jeff Conine
Jack McKeon
Josh Beckett
Dontrelle Willis
Mike Lowell
Luis Castillo
Miguel Cabrera
Giancarlo Stanton
José Fernández
Liván Hernández
Greatest Marlins Players
A list of the greatest players in franchise history would include:
Miguel Cabrera
Giancarlo Stanton
Jeff Conine
Luis Castillo
Mike Lowell
Hanley Ramirez
Christian Yelich
José Fernández
Dontrelle Willis
Josh Beckett
Gary Sheffield
Mike Piazza
Ivan Rodriguez
Liván Hernández
Juan Pierre
Major Marlins Accomplishments
World Series Championships
1997
2003
World Series Appearances
1997
2003
National League MVP
Giancarlo Stanton — 2017
National League Rookie of the Year
Dontrelle Willis — 2003
Hanley Ramirez — 2006
Chris Coghlan — 2009
José Fernández — 2013
National League Cy Young Award
Sandy Alcantara — 2022
Cooperstown Hall of Famers Who Played for the Marlins
Andre Dawson
Mike Piazza
Tim Raines
Ivan Rodriguez
Trevor Hoffman
Jim Thome
Ichiro Suzuki
The Amazing Marlins Record in the World Series
Perhaps the most unusual statistic in franchise history is this:
The Marlins have never lost a World Series.
They have appeared twice.
They have won twice.
1997
Florida Marlins — World Champions
2003
Florida Marlins — World Champions
That gives the franchise a perfect:
2-0 World Series record.
The Miami Marlins Legacy
The Marlins have had one of the strangest histories in Major League Baseball.
They were an expansion team in 1993.
Four years later, they were World Series champions.
They dismantled that championship roster.
Six years later, they won another World Series.
They dismantled that team too.
They developed Miguel Cabrera, Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton and José Fernández.
They produced four Rookie of the Year winners and a National League MVP.
They have also had seven Cooperstown Hall of Fame players wear the Florida or Miami uniform.
The organization has played in two primary ballparks, changed its name from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins, changed ownership four times and produced two of the most improbable championship teams in modern baseball.
Most importantly, the Marlins have accomplished something no other MLB franchise can claim:
Every time they have reached the World Series, they have won it.
From Wayne Huizenga’s expansion franchise to the championship teams of 1997 and 2003, from the Hall of Fame players who passed through Miami to the stars developed and later traded away, the Marlins have created a baseball history that is short in years but enormous in memorable moments.
Artie Fischal
