The reasons why Miami hates the Marlins.

Much is said about the Marlins’ fans ineptitude when it comes to supporting its team, but nothing is ever said about the team’s lack of respect for its fanatics. I am going to get into a vicious cycle that started after the organization’s first world title in 1997 and has deteriorated to the point that some fans would be happy to see the team leave the state.

Miami was enthusiastic in 1993 when it awarded a franchise and became a big league city. The fans came out in droves from 1993-1997 when the team was top 5 in the NL in attendance during three of those five seasons, even averaging a whopping 29,000 fans over that span. Then came the team’s first fire sale.The Marlins were never higher than seventh in attendance again and have been mostly either in the cellar or near it in attendance ever since.

Wayne Huizenga Era (1993-1999)

Although Huizenga started the firesales in Miami during the 1998 season, he did bring the city its first MLB title. The then owner of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers went from an expansion owner to a world champion in five years, the second fastest in major league history. Only the Diamondbacks won a title quicker.

After winning the 1997 title the Marlins got rid of stars such as Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter and eventually trading Cuban cult hero Liván Hernández in 1999. Although they would eventually receive pieces such as Derrick Lee,Brad Penny, Mike Lowell and Luis Castillo in these trades, Miami fans soured on the team and have yet to return to the stadium in masses over the span of a season.

His inability to secure a proper baseball stadium via public funding caused the businessman to eventually sell the team to John W. Henry. Huizenga who passed away in 2018 is probably the only Marlins owner that is viewed in favorable fashion by the fans in this city.

The John W. Henry Era (1999-2002)

After repeatedly trying to get public funding Wayne Huizenge sold the team to millionaire businessman John W. Henry in 1999, but a few years before that the CBT (Competitive Balance Tax) came into affect, something the will elaborated on later in this article. Henry had a very inconsequential ownership.

During his tenure the Marlins were a middling team that was a bat or pitcher away from becoming a contender. In 2002 Henry sold the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria for 158 million, this included a 38 million dollar loan. This loan was later forgiven by MLB.

Henry who had also given up on receiving a publicly funded ballpark eventually sold the team to Loria, who was the Angel of Death for the Montreal Expos. Henry was eventually handed the Boston Red Sox on a platter for his cooperation with MLB. Both Henry and Loria revenue streams were handicapped by non-ownership of the stadium. The team only made money ticket sales.

The Jeffrey Loria Era (2002-2017)

Loria bought the Marlins after running the Montreal Expos in to the ground and eventually contributing to them becoming the Washington Nationals. The team caught lightning in a bottle during 2003 en route to a world title. With the maturing of players such as Brad Penny, Dontrelle Willis, Mike Lowell, Alex González, Derrick Lee, Josh Beckett and Luis Castillo it looked like there was a dynasty on the horizon in South Florida.

The eventual call-up of Miguel Cabrera and hiring of Jack McKeon, while the offseason trade for Juan Pierre and free agent signing off Ivan Rodríguez were shrewd moves by Larry Beinfest. The pre-trade deadline moves for Jeff Conine and Ugeth Urbina cemented Miami’s title, but it was all downhill from there.

The 2003 team was dismantled in a two-year process that included the horrible Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade. In an ownership marred by unsuccessful trades, the unwillingness to sign impending free agents and the misspending of CBT money, Loria killed baseball in Miami such as he did in Montreal. Possibly becoming the most hated man in Miami in his time as owner. During his tenure he would often spend CBT money on things other than such as art, rather than signing players. His 2006 firing of Manager of the Year Joe Girardi was also vintage Loria.

Loria would eventually promise that if he got a publicly funded stadium his frugal ways would end. Miami eventually believed his lie and gave him a stadium in 2012 in a deal that eventually got the Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Álvarez recalled because of how bad it was for the citizens of the county. The arrangement reeked of improprieties and haunts the city’s taxpayers to this day.

Loria made good on his promise of spending money by acquiring José Reyes, Mark Buherle, Omar Infante, Carlos Zambrano and Heath Bell during the offseason. Not only did he also hire Ozzie Guillen as the manager, but he also re-signed Hanley Ramírez making Miami serious preseason contenders.

But in typical Loria fashion he got rid of just about every high-profile signing for prospects. When those prospects eventually matured in 2017 combined with a couple of draft picks and some international free agent signings he sold the team. His 13-year,325 million dollar contracts was a monumental error, while José Fernández’s tragic death only added to the black cloud over the franchise. In 2017 Loria sold the team to Bruce Sherman for 1.2 billion.

Jeffrey Loria could go down in history as possibly the worst MLB owner ever because of his antics in Montreal and Miami.

Bruce Sherman Era (2017-Current Day)

The Bruce Sherman Era has been viewed with mix results. He is not hated as much Jeffrey Loria yet, but he isn’t revered either and getting seems to reaching that Loria hate echelon with every passing day. Not only did he overpay nearly 300 million for the franchise, but he also opened his tenure in the city with a firesale that netted nearly no prized prospects.

Sherman who at a net worth of 500 million is second poorest owner in baseball, next to the Reds’ Bob Castellini. With Sherman paying more than twice his net worth for a team it is not fiscally possible to expect Miami to spend serious money on any high-profile free agents. Many seemed to think that MLB tried to force feed us Derek Jeter (part of Sherman’s ownership group), when there were better options on the table.

The Christian Yelich and JT Realmuto trades were not only utter failures, but also led to the departure of controllable contracts for inadequate compensation. The only trade that was a success was the Marcell Ozuna trade that brought future Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara to Miami and eventually led to Miami acquiring Jazz Chisholm via Zac Gallen. I’m not even going to mention the failed Víctor Víctor Mesa signing and the acquisition of Avisail García over Nick Castellanos, which were monumental failures.

Miami somehow managed to surprise the world in 2020 and make the playoffs in a COVID-19 shortened season, eventually sweeping the Cubs in the Wildcard and losing to Atlanta in the NLDS. With a couple of shrewd trades by Kim Ng and the hiring of Skip Schumaker Miami made the playoffs last season, but in typical Marlins fashion the team tried to demote Ng by hiring Peter Bendix as her boss and putting him in charge of baseball operations, forcing her departure.

With the departure of Ng, Miami decided not to be very active in the free agency this offseason and with yesterday’s trade of Luis Arraez expect Miami to be on its way to another fire sale. In the opinion of many in the city there is no faith in the Marlins and Sherman in spite of two playoff berths in four years.

The Verdict:

In a city on the rise in which the fish have to compete with the Heat (Finals 2020,2023), Florida Panthers (Stanley Cup Finals 2023) and the Miami Dolphins who have made two straight playoff appearances the team has their work cut out.

The team’s past history in free agency and its fire sales have put the franchise a distant fourth in the eyes of the city’s fans in spite of their playoff runs. In fact the only bright spots for the Marlins as an organization have been the successes of the Serie del Caribe and World Baseball Classics at loanDepot Park.

Another error by the Marlins have been their inability or unwillingness to sign big name free agents from Cuba and market to the Cuban community of Miami. This make absolutely no sense when their park is located in Little Havana, a historical part of the city’s Cuban exiles.

With all the animosity the team has created amongst its fans I do not see the Marlins ever righting the ship and reclaiming the fans of Miami. After all you have read in this article, do you fault the people of Miami for hating the Marlins? I sure do not, because the team has done this to themselves. The two words, Public Relations sum up why the Marlins have failed so miserably amongst Miami fans and will continue to lag behind their counterparts in this city.

Bruce ShermanCuban Baseball DigestJeffrey LoriaJohn HenryMajor League BaseballMiami MarlinsMLBWayne Huizenga
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