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.

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See What Hapens?

Hanley Ramirez is totally never hustling again:

It's a lot harder to hurt yourself when you're loafing. See what you've done, Jeff Conine?

SCWS has the best take (at Marlins Daily):

A few weeks ago, Hanley would have turned around and jogged after that pop-up, letting it drop in for an uncontested single. There was no way he was getting to it anyway, so he'd have just let Logan Morrison pick it up, shrugged and walked back to his position, ready to half-heartedly chase after the next ball that might seem just a bit out of his reach.

gif via SB Nation

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Hanley Don't Play That

You knew Hanley Ramirez wouldn't keep quiet about Jeff Conine's criticism forever...

Reacting to some disparaging comments Conine made on The Dan LeBatard Show on 790-The Ticket last week, Ramirez called Conine "chicken" and vowed to replace him in the title of "Mr. Marlin."

"I think he wants to be Mr. Marlin forever," Ramirez said to the Miami Herald. "It won't happen. I'm coming, baby. I think I'm going to be Mr. Marlin. That's my goal now. I wasn't thinking about that (before Conine's comments)."

Last week after complaining to LeBatard "I think there are some nights where he doesn't try as hard as he should," Conine said he would trade Ramirez.

Ramirez didn't appreciate Conine taking his complaints to the media.

"If he's got a problem, just come over and talk to me like a man," Ramirez told the Herald. "Don't be a chicken, talking on the (radio), because whatever you say is going to stay out there."

Doubtless there are plenty among our readers who will take Conine's side on this one, and I don't blame you if you do. But you have to admit, there is no better put-down to a former player than to tell him that you will supplant him and steal his nickname. Hanley's VORJ (value over replacement jerk) is sky high.

As for Conine, clearly he has little to lose at this point (I'm not exactly sure what he does as assistant to David Samson), but the last guy to feud with Hanley was Fredi Gonzalez, and we all know how that turned out. What I'm saying is, Jeff Conine will be the next manager of the Chicago White Sox.

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Mr. Marlin on Sr. Nohustle

Dan LeBatard Show: Would you trade [Hanley Ramirez], if it were up to you?

Conine: If it were up to me, probably.

In other news, Jeff Conine should never ever be a GM.

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Retiring Numbers

Camden Yards via wallyg's flickrstream

Playing in their 18th season of baseball, the Marlins have accumulated some history, but have yet to commemorate some historic milestones.¹ At some point in the not too distant future the Marlins will have to retire a number (The team retired the number 5 for Carl Barger on Opening Day 1993, but that doesn't really count since it was for a nonplayer). Who will the first former Marlin to receive that distinction? Some thoughts below, in order of likelihood.

Gary Sheffield (not playing, but not officially retired): Sheffield was a mainstay for the first 5 years of the team's existence, holds some team single-season records, started for the 1997 World Series club, and could end up in the Hall of Fame. He's probably the most deserving member of this list at the moment.
Mike Lowell (currently playing for Boston): Lowell was a key member of the infield core from 2000 to 2005, starting for the 2003 World Series club. He is currently the Marlins career home run leader, and wins sentimentality points for having grown up in South Florida.
Jeff Conine (retired): Despite his status as Mr. Marlin, Conine's career stats are not the kind that normally get your number retired. However, his status as a team icon, role in both World Series teams, and current role as a special instructor in the Marlins organization might make up for his stats. He also has the complication of wearing two numbers during his time with the club.

You'll notice I did not list anyone unlikely to retire soon. My guess is that someone's number will be retired shortly after the new stadium opens in 2012. It's a wild guess, but a necessary one for the purposes of this exercise.


¹For our purposes here, historic milestones include (but are not limited to): anniversaries of championships, retired numbers, and breaking of team/league records. In short, these are the things that remind us this team has been around for awhile. They are the edifice of permanence.

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