The Best All-Stars in Marlins History, Part 1

With the annual All-Star Game on deck, Ted and I thought it would be fun to look back at every All-Star in franchise history and sort the wheat from the chaff. The Marlins have benefited from MLB's rule that every team must be represented at the midsummer classic, as you'll see below. Indeed, it is a double-edged sword: it allows fans of bad teams to have at least a little rooting interest in the game, but it also results in some very undeserving All-Star selections. Today we will look at the bottom half of the ledger, with the top half coming Tuesday.

For purposes of ranking, we looked at each players Wins Above Replacement (as calculated by Baseball Reference and either ERA+ (for pitchers) or OPS+ (for position players). We excluded Jose Fernandez, as he only has half a season of stats to compare, and did not account for any pre-/post-ASG split (because that would have taken more time than we were willing to invest). Incidentally, Fernandez already has more WAR than the bottom 6 players on the list (2.5), and should he continue his hot play could easily catapult into the top half of this list.

Onto the rankings, beginning with the Thanks for Showing Up division (* denotes ASG starter):

39. Alex Gonzalez, 1999 (0.7 WAR, 91 OPS+): Someone had to go in 1999, and it was Gonzalez. He didn't have a terrible year, but his .277 batting average was complemented by only 15 walks in 591 plate appearances.
38. Edgar Renteria, 1998 (0.9 WAR, 88 OPS+): See above. El Niño led the NL by getting caught stealing 22 times.
37. Gaby Sanchez, 2011 (2.7 WAR, 113 OPS+): Gaby wasn't that bad in 2011, but in hindsight Giancarlo Stanton (4.1 WAR, 141 OPS+) would have been a better choice. Sanchez hit .293 in the first half of the season, then took a major nosedive, hitting .225 in the second half.

Next up, the Good Thing Your Position is Not That Deep division:

36. Paul Lo Duca, 2005 (1.2 WAR, 92 OPS+): Look, no one expects a catcher to do that much on offense. But you do have to do something on defense every once in awhile. Lo Duca was third in the NL with 29 runners caught stealing, but also gave up the most stolen bases (89 - for a CS% of 24.6%).
35. Luis Castillo, 2002 (2.0 WAR, 95 OPS+): Castillo led the NL with 48 stolen bases, but got caught 15 times, second most in the league. He was solid on defense, and hit .301.
34. Charles Johnson, 2001 (2.4 WAR, 100 OPS+): CJ threw out 37 would-be base stealers (5th in the NL), but was the epitome of average at the plate.

Now let's pause and consider that democracy is not always the optimal decision-making mechanism. This is the Fan Votes are Flawed division:

33. Gary Sheffield*, 1993 (-0.1 WAR, 120 OPS+): Acquired in a late-June trade with the Padres, Sheffield was voted in by fans as a starter, even though he probably did not deserve it. His terrible defense (-3.0 dWAR) outdid a so-so offensive year (2.9 oWAR). His 34 errors were third in the NL. On the plus side, Sheffield went 2 for 3 with a home run in the game, so at least he acquitted himself nicely.
32. Hanley Ramirez*, 2010 (2.7 WAR, 126 WAR): Not that we didn't love watching Ramirez start in the All-Star Game for the third straight season, but this selection was based largely on his reputation (having won the batting title the previous season). He hit .300 in 2010, but in hindsight this season was the beginning of his decline into a very undistinguished hitter (though he has been very hot thus far in 2013).

Our next category is the Franchise Hero division, featuring two players who can do no wrong:

31. Jeff Conine, 1994 (2.8 WAR, 130 OPS+): Conine had a better year in 1994 than his other All-Star season, but he didn't win MVP in the 1994 game, so that knocks him down a few pegs.
30. Mike Lowell, 2002 (3.0 WAR, 116 OPS+): Lowell was better in 2003, but
29. Lowell, 2003 (2.7 WAR, 128 OPS+): Lowell had his best season with the Marlins in 2003, hitting a career-high 32 home runs despite missing the last month of the season with a broken hand. He also won the NL Silver Slugger for third-basemen.
28. Conine, 1995 (2.6 WAR, 135 OPS+): Not the most distinguished season, but Conine did win ASG MVP thanks to his decisive home run. 

These guys all had better All-Star years, but were still clearly deserving of the honor. It's the Better Seasons in the Portfolio division:

27. Dan Uggla, 2006 (3.0 WAR, 112 OPS+): He had better years to come, but 27 HR and .480 slugging as a rookie is nothing to be ashamed of. Uggla finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, behind teammate and winner Hanley Ramirez and Ryan Zimmerman of Washington.
26. Miguel Cabrera, 2007 (3.2 WAR, 150 OPS+): His last All-Star year with the Marlins was his worst, but he still hit 34 home runs with a .965 OPS.
25. Cabrera, 2004 (3.4 WAR, 150 OPS+): 33 home runs, 112 RBI in his first full season in the majors. Yeah, he was pretty good.
24. Castillo, 2005 (3.6 WAR, 108 OPS+): Castillo won his third straight NL Gold Glove, hitting above .300 for the fifth time in seven seasons.
23. Dontrelle Willis, 2003 (3.9 WAR, 127 ERA+): The Rookie of the Year and folk hero of the 2003 World Series team, Willis could do no wrong. 

These two appeared in the midsummer classic during their only year with the team, making them the One-Year Wonder division:

22. Armando Benitez, 2004 (3.4 WAR, 319 ERA+): Led the NL with 47 saves, and had a crazy-outlier .176 BABIP. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good (and even better to be both).
21. Moises Alou, 1997 (3.5 WAR, 130 OPS+): Alou slashed .292/.373/.493 en route to a World Series title. Sheffield was arguably better among his teammates, but he did not make the All-Star team.

Rounding out the first part is the One-Timers' Club, both of whom made one All-Star appearance as Marlins (though both made additional appearances with other teams):

20. Ryan Dempster, 2000 (4.2 WAR, 121 ERA+): Hard to remember, but Dempster was once the ace of the Marlins' staff (shudders). He had 8.3 K/9IP, but benefitted largely from having no other good All-Star candidates on the team that year.
19. Bryan Harvey, 1993 (4.0 WAR, 257 ERA+): Harvey was third in the NL with 45 saves for the expansion Marlins, helped by a career-low .240 BABIP. His 0.841 WHIP was absurd.

Click here to read Part 2.

Read more...

No CJ? Denied

The BBWAA Hall of Fame voting results were announced today and MDH extends a congratulations to Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven who have been elected to be enshrined in Cooperstown, both very deserving of the honor.

It wasn't a good day for some members of the Diaspora. Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Benito Santiago, Lenny Harris Soul Food, and Charles Johnson did not receive enough votes to remain on future ballots and their candidacies are over. Tim Raines however, did receive 218 votes (37.5%) and is still alive in future years.

*The BBA voting (including a ballot from Dave, with a vote for CJ, h/t Brother) produced the same two and only two winners for Hall of Fame as the BBWAA. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

Read more...

Of Minor Importance

MLB released its 2011 Hall of Fame ballot today, and included in the list of first-time candidates is the first Marlin and child of the diaspora Charles Johnson. To the best of my knowledge, Johnson is the first Marlin to be considered for the Hall that spent a bulk of his glory days in Florida. It is highly unlikely that he makes the Hall (Baseball Reference lists Andy Seminick, Ed Bailey, and Ernie Whitt as his closest comparables, none of whom are in the Hall of Fame). Nonetheless, I can't help but mark the occasion, since I have never even had to consider whether or not a former Marlin should be in the Hall of Fame (disregarding Andre Dawson, whose Marlins stint played no role in his election to the Hall of Fame last year).

Also included on the ballot for the first time are children of the Marlins diaspora Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Benito Santiago, Ugueth Urbina, Ismael Valdez, and Lenny Harris. I'm 99% certain that none of them will make the Hall. Also on the ballot is Tim Raines, who finished his career in Florida, is on the ballot again. Here's hoping he surpasses last year's 30.4 percent total and joins fellow Expo/Marlin Andre Dawson in the Hall of Fame. In my mind, he certainly deserves it.

Read more...

Children of the Marlins Diaspora 12

[Dave: In honor of the first day of Spring Training, let's take a look at the very first Marlin.]


Charles Johnson, C

Played for Marlins: 1994-1998, 2001-2002
Other Teams: LA Dodgers (1998), Baltimore (1999-2000), Chicago White Sox (2000), Colorado (2003-2004), Tampa Bay (2005)
Marlins fans know him because: Johnson was the first member of the Marlins, drafted in the first round (28th pick) of the 1992 draft out of the University of Miami. He quickly rose through the minor leagues, making his debut in 1994 and becoming the everyday catcher starting in 1995, whereupon he won four straight Gold Gloves. In 1997 he set a Major League record by catching 123 games without committing a single error. He also made the NL All-Star Team in 1997 and 2001, and homered in Game 1 of the 1997 World Series. He is also one of the few members of the Marlins Diaspora to be traded by the team twice (in 1998 and 2002)
Everyone else knows him because: For a brief period, Johnson was the best defensive catcher in the game, posting a career caught-stealing percentage of 39. Johnson also was involved in the infamous Mike Piazza trade in 1998, when the Marlins sent him to LA with Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, and Jim Eisenreich in exchange for Piazza and Todd Zeile.
Best Marlins moment: CJ had his fair share of great moments, but the top has to be his big league debut on May 6, 1994. Johnson was called up from the minors to replace an injured Benito Santiago. In the fourth inning against Curt Schilling (then with the Phillies), CJ homered in his second career at bat, earning a curtain call from the home crowd (of over 31,000, incredibly). It was a good sign, for sure.


Photo via Bleacher Report

Read more...