A ball may not become live until the pitcher is on the rubber ready to pitch and the batter, catcher, and umpire are ready -- much like in this photo, taken during the August 27, 2005 Chicago Cubs | Cubs-Florida Marlins | Marlins game.

The Florida Marlins were the first Major League Baseball team to have cheerleaders.

The Marlins have the distinction of winning a World Series championship every year they qualified for the postseason, doing so in 1997 and 2003 — both times as the National League wild card team.

The Marlins did have some pleasant surprises during the season.

The Marlins were asked about ace Dontrelle Willis after his Cy Young caliber campaign in 2005 amid the " Market Correction " but rejected an offer from the Detroit Tigers that would have landed them now 4 × MLB All-Star and 2011 AL MVP pitcher Justin Verlander and five-tool outfielder Curtis Granderson, both prospects with some major league experience under their belt.

Both of the LA teams would bow out because of the quantity demand of the Marlins and they again would miss out on getting All-Star caliber players, namely Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw who the Marlins could have obtained if their demands were lowered.

The Marlins infield became the first in major league history to have an entire infield hit 29 home runs or more ( 1B: Mike Jacobs-32 / 2B: Dan Uggla-32 / SS: Hanley Ramirez-33 / 3B: Jorge Cantu: 29 ).

* No-Hitters: Marlins pitchers have issued four no-hitters in team regular-season history, all coming against teams in the NL West.

They are also one of two teams, along with the Miami Marlins, in Major League Baseball history to never have a player hit for the cycle.

Four players have hit a grand slam on their first major-league at-bat: Bill Duggleby in 1898, Jeremy Hermida of the Florida Marlins, Kevin Kouzmanoff, then playing for the Cleveland Indians, off Edinson Volquez of the Texas Rangers on September 2, 2006, and Daniel Nava, then playing for the Boston Red Sox, off Joe Blanton of the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12, 2010.

Coincidentally, having won a championship while managing the Florida Marlins in 1997, Tigers manager Jim Leyland could have achieved this same feat had the Tigers defeated La Russa's Cardinals in the 2006 World Series.

It was the third MLB stadium to have a retractable roof and the first in the United States ( at the time, only Toronto's SkyDome, now Rogers Centre and Montreal's Olympic Stadium had them ; others are now at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Miller Park in Milwaukee, Safeco Field in Seattle and Marlins Park in Miami ).

To date, only two franchises have never hosted a game: the Miami Marlins ( although scheduled to host the game in 2000, Major League Baseball moved the game to Atlanta ), and the Tampa Bay Rays.

In Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins that year, Alou was involved in the Steve Bartman incident, in which a Cubs fan named Steve Bartman deflected a foul ball landing one row into the stands, preventing Alou, who reached into the stands, from attempting to catch the ball for an out that could have been the second out of the 8th Inning.

As part of the new Marlins Park, Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places have commissioned Daniel Arsham / Snarkitecture to design a public artwork to commemorate the Miami Orange Bowl.

A baseball purist ( or " traditionalist ") heartily dislikes the changes that have taken place in Major League Baseball over the years, which include regular season interleague play ( prior to 1997, the teams in the American League never played the teams in the National League during the regular season ), the addition of a wild card team in the post-season playoffs, the four new expansion teams ( the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Rays ) added in the 1990s, and the reconfiguration of the leagues into three divisions.

) Some of the players who the Marlins have brought up directly from Carolina include Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, Jason Vargas, Scott Olsen, Logan Kensing ( who was brought up directly from Class A Jupiter the previous year ), Chris Resop, Josh Johnson, Yorman Bazardo, Jeremy Hermida, Chris Volstad, and Robert Andino.

A hit by Cantu would have scored one run to give the Marlins the lead and surely would have resulted in extra bases and kept the inning alive.

Modern Winchesters, Marlins and replicas have remedied this omission almost 100 years after the fact, and the. 45 Colt is now available in modern lever-action rifles.

Despite the failures of Bowden's tenure, his last trade appeared to have been extremely beneficial to the Nationals, as he traded infielder Emilio Bonifacio and two minor-leaguers to the Marlins for starting pitcher Scott Olsen and outfielder Josh Willingham.

He was released by the Marlins on March 13, 2009 ; the Marlins stated that they did not have room on the roster for him.

At first he wasn't thrilled about being traded to the expansion Marlins, and would rather have played for a contending team like the Padres, but the Marlins offered some upside with their young talent.

Jim Leyland, a two-time NL Manager of the Year who had won the World Series with the Florida Marlins two years earlier, was expected to bring the Rockies back into contention in 1999.

The Marlins won their first game on April 5,, against the Dodgers.

The underdog Marlins went on to face the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series, and won in seven games.

The Marlins won the Division Series against the favored San Francisco Giants three games to one.

The Marlins won the series despite scoring fewer runs ( 17 ) than the Yankees ( 21 ).

In 2009, the Marlins remained in the playoff chase until the middle of September thanks to Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan and the breakout season of Hanley Ramirez who won the National League Batting Title.

Beckett won the World Series MVP in 2003 and won 41 games as a member of the Marlins, with a 3. 46 ERA.

In the 1997 National League Championship Series, Brown, riddled with the flu, proceeded to pitch a complete game in Game Six, defeating the Atlanta Braves and helping the Marlins reach the World Series, which they eventually won over the Cleveland Indians.

* Luis Castillo ( 1996 – 2005 ) — Castillo won three Gold Glove Awards and went to three All-Star games in his tenure with the Marlins.

* Jeff Conine ( 1993 – 1997, 2003 – 2005 ) — Jeff Conine has the distinction of being the only player to appear in the opener of the Marlins ' inaugural season and in both the 1997 World Series and the 2003 World Series won by the Marlins.

In his tenure with the Marlins, Lowell was a three time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.

* Dontrelle Willis ( 2003 – 2007 ) — The " D-Train " was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 2003 and showcased his remarkable ( for a pitcher ) hitting ability by going 3-for-3 with a triple while scoring a run during Game 4 of the 2003 National League Division Series, which the Marlins won 7 – 6 over the San Francisco Giants to advance to the NL Championship Series.

The Brewers won 3 – 1 while the New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins 4 – 2, sealing the Brewers the Wild Card spot.

Jason Schmidt won game one in San Francisco with a complete game victory, but the Marlins would win the series three games to one as the Giants bullpen proved unable to prevent their opponent from scoring.

* World Series – Florida Marlins won 4 games to 3 over the Cleveland Indians.

However, the Marlins won the game 9-6.

He led the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997, and previously won three straight division titles ( 1990, 1991, and 1992 ) with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Marlins, in only their fifth year of existence, became the second fastest expansion franchise to win a World Series ( the Boston Americans, now known as the Red Sox, were a charter team in the expansion American League in 1901 and won the first World Series in 1903 ).

The Arizona Diamondbacks surpassed the Marlins on this list when they won the World Series in 2001, their fourth season.

During his career in the playoffs, he won the 2003 World Series with the Florida Marlins and the 2007 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, and received the 2007 ALCS MVP award for his play in that series.

The Marlins made the playoffs as a wild card team, and defeated the San Francisco Giants in the National League Divisional Series, and then the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, before going to the World Series, which Florida won in seven games.