Archive of historical posts from our previous site “The Florida Marlins Ticket”.

Since we’ve been able to locate some of the files from the past, we will be posting many of our news posts from the late 1990s. Loyal Marlins fans will enjoy some of the old names and circumstances including our coverage of the 1997 World Series. You can read these posts here.

Meanwhile, check out some of our history on the Internet Archive.

Here are the major transaction from the 1998 season including the fire-sale of the 1997 World Series Champions:

Cliff Floyd received the media award as player of the year. Matt Mantei was named the most improved. Mark Kotsay was named Rookie of the year. Rich Donnely was awarded the good guy award.

In what appears to be the first step in John Henry’s purchase of the Florida Marlins, Don Smiley withdrew his bid to buy the team. Smiley’s 14-month attempt to purchase the team was unable to gather enough money. This clears way for John Henry to complete his deal. In more exciting news, GM Dave Dombrowski who built a deep minor league system and a world champion re-signed for 5 more years. Despite lucrative offers, specifically from the Dodgers, Dombrowski opted to stay in South Florida. Henry has already indicated that he wants to invest more money in the payroll and name Dombrowski the president of the ball club.

News out of Wayne Huizenga and John Henry’s representatives indicate that Henry is on the verge of purchasing the Florida Marlins. Henry has already promised to build a new stadium from his own funds. He also suggested that any public fund would be welcome and allow him to direct more of his money to the payroll. Henry also would keep Dave Dombrowski as President and General Manager. Finally, and most importantly, Henry would increase the payroll back to a competitive level, probably convincing Jim Leyland to stay. At this point, Henry still has not sold his 1% of the NY Yankees and Huizenga has not submitted his name for approval by Major League Baseball.

Marlins reactivated Edgar Renteria and Mike Redmond from the DL. Andy Larkin was sent back to the Minors. Preston Wilson, Randy Knorr, Brian Daubach, and Alex González will remain on the expanded major league roster.

Edgar Renteria and Mike Redmond joined the Marlins ever-growing list of injured players. Alex González will finally get a chance to show his skills at shortstop and off-season veteran signee Randy Knorr will back up at the catcher position.

Another Marlins pitcher has joined the DL. Matt Mantei sprained his ankle in a loss to San Diego. Rafael Medina was reactivated of the DL to take his spot.

The Marlins have placed Craig Counsell on the DL and called up Luis Castillo to take his spot on the Roster. Counsell was hit by a pitch and broke his jaw. Castillo was the starting second baseman last season, but lost his job due to inconsistency and the need to continue development in the minors. Castillo’s main asset is his speed.

7/31/98 — In a last minute trade, the Marlins filled the open gap in third base by acquiring Kevin Orrie from the Chicago Cubs for reliever Felix Heredia. The Marlins also receive minor league pitchers Todd Noel and Justin Speier, while the Cubs receive minor league pitcher Steve Hoff. Orrie was the Cubs’ starting third baseman last year, but has struggled so far this year. Speier joins the Marlins bullpen, taking Heredia’s spot.