Among the 25 World Series champions since 2000, how did the 2003 Marlins land in this spot?
There were concerns about Ivan Rodriguez’s health heading into the 2003 season, which is why he was still a free agent in January despite slashing .314/.353/.542 with the Rangers in 2002. The veteran catcher had been in the majors for 12 years at that point, and he had missed time due to injuries in each of the previous three years. Combining those concerns with what he was asking for in free agency left him out in the cold, and the Marlins offering a $10 million, one-year deal had his agent shopping around Japanese teams for a big-money deal instead of just taking it.
In the end, Rodriguez did accept Florida’s offer, and good thing for the Marlins. He was their best player in 2003, hitting .297/.369/.474 with 54 extra-base hits in 144 games, and helped lead them to their second World Series championship. He would take home NLCS MVP honors along the way, batting .321/.424/.607 in seven games against the Cubs. His 2003 campaign would earn him that significant free-agent deal he had been searching for: That offseason, Rodriguez signed a four-year, $40 million deal with the Tigers, and then helped lead them to the 2006 World Series.
The 2003 Marlins were far more than just Rodriguez. They also had Luis Castillo’s Gold Glove defense at second base to go along with an above-average bat. They had Juan Pierre and his MLB-leading 65 stolen bases. First baseman Derrek Lee bashed 31 homers. Mike Lowell posted an .881 OPS, and his glove at third was a reliable one. The Marlins also had 20-year-old rookie Miguel Cabrera, who batted .268/.325/.468 with 12 homers in his first taste of big-league baseball. Cabrera would hit another four huge homers in the postseason, including three in the hotly contested NLCS with Chicago.
The rotation was the true engine behind the championship Marlins, though. Rookie Dontrelle Willis made 27 starts and fell a single out short of qualifying on leaderboards, but his 3.30 ERA was second-best among regular starters behind Josh Beckett. Due to missing significant time with an elbow sprain, Beckett also didn’t qualify for leaderboards but, like Willis, he was just as much of an ace when he was on the mound. These two were joined by the average-or-better trio of Carl Pavano, Brad Penny and Mark Redman. The bullpen got a boost midseason in the form of Ugueth Urbina. The Marlins acquired him in a July trade with the Rangers, and he posted a 1.41 ERA over 33 games with them, and pitched another 13 innings in October.
The Yankees were the heavy favorite in the 2003 World Series after winning 101 games and defeating the loaded Red Sox in the ALCS. The Marlins had already downed the 100-win Giants in the NLDS, however, and crushed the Cubs’ dreams of ending their championship drought by winning Games 5, 6 and 7 of the NLCS. Florida then won the final three games of the World Series as well, beating the Yankees in six games and ending New York’s dreams of adding another banner to Yankee Stadium.
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