Throwback Thursday

Via Billy Corben, check out the shoulder patch on that uni. So awesome, it makes up for the Mets-like blue and orange color scheme. We really wish Jeffrey Loria had taken a cue from the minor league Miami Marlins uniforms when the team rebranded two years ago, but alas.

Read more...

Something to peruse this morning

Via the Baseball Reference blog, here's a link to the 1992 expansion draft, when the Marlins and Rockies got their pick of anyone not included on a 40-man roster. Even before the team had played a single game, the front office was already exhibiting its scouting acumen, as the Marlins selected Trevor Hoffman (who was later traded for Gary Sheffield), Carl Everett, and Jeff Conine in the draft. The Marlins' scouting team wasn't perfect, though. First pick Nigel Wilson amassed only 36 career plate appearances in the big leagues, 16 of which came for the Fish. Can't win them all...


Carl Everett card via Baseball Almanac

Read more...

Here Come the O's

Ted and I share one important characteristic with Adam Smoot. Before the Marlins came around, our baseball fandom began and ended with the Baltimore Orioles. Because we had cousins in Baltimore, we inherited their fandom. We loved Cal Ripken, reminisced about the days when he shared the infield with Eddie Murray, and considered Earl Weaver to be the greatest manager in the history of Major League Baseball. While our stance on the Orioles may have softened a bit in the intervening years (they've become more of a disappointment than a source of joy), I still get an added jolt from watching the Marlins play the Orioles. In 1997, when the Marlins won to the World Series, I almost got to see my dream World Series matchup until the Indians defeated the O's in the ALCS.

I'm rambling here, but my point is I like watching these two teams play each other, even if one of the two usually is terrible (but hey, at least the Orioles got rid of Corey Patterson and Daniel Cabrera...). Plus, the series allows me to wear one of my favorite hats: the 1980s-era Orioles hat:
I will also use the occasion to repost the Earl Weaver freakout:

Give 'em hell, Earl.

Read more...