These are the five moments that defined the Miami Marlins’ 2020 playoff season
Unexpected? Not if you ask the Marlins.
Even before Phillies’ pitcher-turned-studio analyst Ricky Bottalico called them “bottom feeders,” inspiring them to make T-shirts and adopt it as their catch phrase, the Marlins believed their status as cellar dwellers had come to an end.
Whether you believe it was legit or not because of the shortened 60-game slate, the fact is the Marlins got their first taste of playoff baseball under Derek Jeter’s watch representing a positive step for the franchise.
Here’s a look at five of the most memorable moments along the Marlins’ path to their first postseason berth since 2003:
RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY
The Marlins became the first team to deal with a major COVID-19 outbreak once major American pro sports resumed in late July.
In a matter of days, 18 players tested positive for the virus prompting a week-long quarantine at the team’s hotel in Philadelphia.
The Marlins’ front office scoured the waiver wire, called up rookies and made trades (174 roster moves by season’s end) to put together what they hoped was a competitive roster.
The Marlins didn’t just compete. They won.
This patched-together team was on the road for 23 consecutive days and still won five in a row and seven out of 10 giving themselves the push they needed to eventually reach the postseason.
“NOCHE DE SIXTO”
The Marlins had 18 rookies make their major league debuts this season.
None was more anticipated than top prospect Sixto Sanchez’s first career start on Aug. 22 at Nationals Park.
Sanchez gave up a pair of home runs and six hits overall, but flashed his explosive four-pitch mix of triple-digit fastball, slider, changeup and curveball to pick up four strikeouts and his first major league win.
Although his nine starts would have mixed results (3.46 ERA in the regular season and 4.50 ERA in the postseason), Sanchez moved closer to securing a place as a frontline starter in the Marlins’ rotation.
A PIT STOP AND A TRADE
The Marlins flew to New York on Aug. 31 for a quick one-day trip to make up a game against the Mets that had been postponed the prior week after both teams walked off the field in protest of racial injustice after they together stood on the field in silence for 42 seconds.
The Marlins pulled off two wins that day, securing one of their key 21 division victories and acquiring veteran center fielder Starling Marte in a deal that sent pitchers Caleb Smith, Humberto Mejia and minor-leaguer Julio Frias to the Diamondbacks.
Marte hit the game-winning home run the next night in his Marlins’ debut and brought a veteran presence to their lineup. The Marlins missed him during the playoffs as Marte suffered a broken pinkie finger when he was hit by a pitch in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Cubs.
Miami could be inclined to pick up Marte’s team option for 2021.
GIANT KILLERS
On Sept. 25 — the five-year anniversary of Jose Fernandez’s death — the Marlins clinched their first playoff berth in 17 years at Yankee Stadium on the same field where they won the 2003 World Series.
The following week, the Marlins won their first playoff series since that season at another of baseball’s historic ballparks by sweeping the Cubs.
Sandy Alcantara and Sanchez helped the Marlins hold Chicago to one run in two games while Corey Dickerson and Garrett Cooper hit the key go-ahead home runs in each game.
REALITY CHECK
The season that began with two exhibition wins in Atlanta ended with three painful postseason losses against the Braves in Houston.
It was a cold reminder that the Marlins still have a long way to go before they can be considered true title contenders as the Braves blanked them in games 2 and 3 and pounded their pitchers in a 9-5 win in Game 1.
As both manager Don Mattingly and team captain Miguel Rojas acknowledged later, the Braves are the biggest obstacle for a franchise with championship aspirations that made a lot of progress in 2020 but whose talent still needs time to develop.
