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.

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.

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.

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

However, the Marlins won the game 9-6.

The Marlins may have won the 2003 World Series, but up until playoff time, their Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes franchise was outdrawing the major league club most nights of the week.

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.

With the series tied after game six, the Indians went into the ninth inning of Game 7 with a 2 – 1 lead, but closer Jose Mesa allowed the Marlins to tie the game.

The series ended with a dramatic collision between Marlins catcher Rodríguez and Giants first baseman J. T.

Shortstop Álex González helped the Marlins in Game 4 of the series with a walk off home run in extra innings.

Sosa finished the season with 40 home runs, and he hit two more in the 2003 NLCS against the Florida Marlins, but overall, the Cubs lost the series in seven games.

The Yankees ended up losing the game and the series to the Florida Marlins in six games.

The Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves in the first round, but lost to the eventual World Series Champion Florida Marlins in the NLCS, a tightly contested seven game series.

In the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, with Chicago ahead 3 – 0 and holding a 3 games to 2 lead in the best of 7 series, several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Marlins ' second baseman Luis Castillo.

* In June 2011 due to a previously scheduled U2 concert at Sun Life Stadium, an interleague series between the Florida Marlins and Seattle Mariners was moved to Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners.

* The Mariners ' Interleague series with the Florida Marlins was moved to Safeco Field due to a scheduling conflict with rock band U2 at Sun Life Stadium.

Alou went on to lead the team in average in its two series against the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins.

They then lost the following game and with it the series ( the Marlins went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.

Josh Beckett for the Marlins had a magnificent outing, throwing a two-hitter sending the series back to Chicago.

The home run would give the Marlins an early 2 – 0 lead in route to a 4 – 3 Marlins victory that evened the series at 2 games.

In 2010, Major League Baseball returned to the stadium, as the Florida Marlins faced the New York Mets in a three game series during the regular season.

The Marlins swept the Giants in the series and defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1997 National League Championship Series ( NLCS ) to face the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.

The National Conference League launched a series of Summer Divisions in 2009 but failed to repeat its summer experiment in 2010 leading three clubs: East Leeds, Milford Marlins and Shaw Cross Sharks to join the Rugby League Conference.

* The World Series loss snapped the Red Sox's record of winning their first five postseason series, a feat that would not be matched until the Florida Marlins did it 57 years later in the 2003 World Series.

He went 5 innings and yielded 4 earned runs in his one postseason start, in game 2 of the division series against the Florida Marlins.

That error started a Marlins rally, and the Marlins, going ahead then 2 games to 1, took a lead in the series which they never relinquished.

The team defeated the Gulf Coast Marlins in the 2011 Gulf Coast League championship series.