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BringJoy
This podcast is all about bringing joy through storytelling and conversation. You’ll be inspired and entertained It’ll be time well spent I promise you that, so sit back and relax. Let's do this thing!
BringJoy
Marlins Fan Extraordinaire: Baseball Tales with Abel Rostran
When a lifelong Miami Marlins supporter and a devoted Yankees fan cross paths at LoanDepot Park, baseball magic happens. Abel Restrain radiates pure passion for America's pastime, captivating everyone around him with his infectious energy and encyclopedic knowledge of the game.
Abel's journey from Nicaragua—where baseball reigns supreme—to becoming Miami's most enthusiastic Marlins fan offers a fascinating glimpse into how baseball creates identity and community. His vivid storytelling transports us through Marlins history, from their inaugural 1993 season through their World Series triumphs to today's promising young squad. With particular delight, Abel celebrates the Marlins' distinction as the only MLB team with a winning all-time record against the mighty Yankees.
What truly shines is Abel's commitment to passing baseball traditions to future generations. His daughters haven't missed an Opening Day since birth, creating a visual timeline with annual photos in the same stadium location. As he awaits the arrival of his son, Abel reflects on baseball's power to unite families across generations.
The conversation weaves through fascinating territory—from the pioneering women in the Marlins' front office to the electric atmosphere of the World Baseball Classic, where Abel witnessed his native Nicaragua compete on the international stage. His firsthand accounts of South Florida's rich baseball culture reveal why the region consistently produces exceptional talent.
Abel's "Mount Rushmore" of Marlins legends—Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, and Josh Johnson—becomes a heartfelt tribute to players who brought joy beyond mere statistics. His honorable mention of José Fernández reminds us of baseball's capacity to inspire both celebration and profound connection.
Whether you're a dedicated Marlins fan, a baseball historian, or simply someone who appreciates authentic passion, this episode captures why baseball remains America's most storied sport—a game that transcends rivalries and connects us to something larger than ourselves.
Thanks for tuning in to the Joy of Baseball podcast. It's all about baseball, from the sandlots to the big leagues and everything in between. I'll share my joy for the game with you and whether you're a fan of baseball or good storytelling, you'll be entertained and each episode will bring a little joy to your day To grab you some peanuts and crackerjacks. Let's talk baseball how we doing baseball fans. I got a good one for you today. I'm talking to my friend, abel Restrain. He's a Miami Marlins fanatic who I met at Lone Depot Park when his Miami Marlins were taking on my New York Yankees. We don't agree on the same team, but we do agree. There's nothing like baseball. Welcome to the show, bell.
Speaker 2:Hey how you doing. Joy, you know it's a pleasure to have met you last weekend on Saturday for the Yankees at Marlins game. I always love going to games and I love meeting opposing fans, except Mets fans. That's the only fans that I would not interact with, but everybody else, and the Braves and the Phillies and the Nationals, so the entire NLEs, but anybody else Royals, you know Houston, I was out there on Tuesday against the Astros. I have no problem with anybody. They're great fans and I can talk baseball all day, all night.
Speaker 1:Well, you have such a good energy. My nephew Clay and I had gotten to the game a little bit early we're taking in all the pregame festivities and you and your boy Momo walked in and before you sat down, you, like, looked at the field, raised your arms and, like, let's go, marlins. And started clapping, took it all in around you. Let everybody know you was there for the Marlins and that energy was contagious.
Speaker 2:You know it's funny because as a Marlins and that energy was contagious. You know, it's funny because, as a Marlins fan, when we go to games, especially when the big time, big time teams come to town, right. So when the Yankees come, it's a big series, as you saw. I think the Marlins had over 101,000 fans in the three games that the Yankees were here this past weekend. Um, when the Red Sox you know the big name, uh, big fan base, the C Cubs, they always do great down here. So, because Miami is a town that we didn't have the Marlins until 1993. Right, so, people that that are longtime baseball fans out here they grew up watching the Cubs, the Braves and the Super Station the Cubs because they had WGN from Chicago that would broadcast down here, superstation the Cubs, because they had WGN from Chicago that would broadcast down here.
Speaker 2:And obviously everybody grows up watching the Yankees or the Red Sox because you had a favorite player growing up or something like that. So I know, going into that game, that I'm going to be severely outnumbered, which I was, because I don't know if you remember, but around us me and Momo were the only Marlins fans. I think we had two people on the side and then a couple of people in front of us, but in those seats and we had great seats, by the way in those particular seats that we were at, it was mostly, I would say, 100% Yankee fans, and you guys were loud for the players intro but not so loud afterwards. I'm not going to bring that up. I don't know if you're ready to talk about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to give you your flowers, so to speak, because I was going to say the last time I saw you was at the end of game two. The Marners have beat the Yankees 2-0, a shutout, even though it sounded like 2-0, it was a close game. It was never close. Your boys handled business and you were celebrating that victory, you and Momo, there in the stands. Then game three the Marnins go on to win easily 7-3. Again, the Yankees were never really in it. So the Marnins swept the series against the Yankees the first time that the Marnins have swept the Yankees, but certainly not the first time that the Marnins have won, because I later found out, my nephew was telling me the Marnins are the only team with a winning record against the Yankees.
Speaker 2:I was waiting for you to bring that up. So that game, heading into game on Sunday, which it was, you know, going for the sweep, the Marlins and the Yankees all time, and we've only met in the playoffs once in the 2003 World Series, an instant classic, six game Josh Beckett, you know, complete game, jack McKeon, who was honored this weekend, by the way, inducted into the Hall of Fame with the Marlins Players Hall of Fame, and so all time leading right. So you know, it wasn't until a couple of years ago that baseball started doing this whole league where you play every team basically every year, right? So this year the Yankees were here, next year we go to Yankee Stadium, and so on. Before you would have to go five, six years before the Yankees would play the Marlins, right, and I don't believe the interleague play didn't start until the mid-'90s, right, when you started having the subway series and the Marlins got tied up with the Rays, you know, as our interleague opponents, but the Yankees and the Marlins had met 20, the record was 23 and 23 all time heading into Sunday.
Speaker 2:So that game, for us Marlins fans it meant so much. Why? Because now we can actually talk about hey, guess what? Who's the only team currently, right now, until next year when we play the Yankees in Yankee Stadium who's the only team that has an all-time winning percentage over the most historic franchise and I say this without no hesitation the most historic franchise in North American sports.
Speaker 2:Because I will include Canada, I will include the Montreal Canadiens, who have won 23 or 24 Stanley Cups, all of them before the 1950s, by the way. So I'm not taking a shot or anything. But if you guys want to claim your championships from when Columbus was arriving in America, but the only team that has respected and is the winningest franchise 27 times world champion, and I gave them their flowers it's the New York Yankees. That is, the representations of sports excellence professionally in this country, in this whole North America. So the fact that we Marlins fans, a team with a payroll of $58 million can go around and say, hey, the Mar, the Marlins, you guys train everybody, you guys don't have any fans, you guys don't do this, but you know what we do have we have the all-time winning percentage against the New York Yankees for at least 300 days, which, whenever we decide, I hope MLB decides to schedule us in August, so I can have this for a full year to talk about.
Speaker 1:It's a great icebreaker, hey, and I think Major League Baseball needs to recognize the rivalry that has become the Marlins and the Yankees. It may not go back as far as the Red Sox. The Marlins have the Yankees number. So much so that the last time I saw you before we said goodbye. You and Momo were celebrating, taking pictures, high-fiving everybody, and you were doing a John Sterling impression. John Sterling now retired, but the famed sportscaster for the New York Yankees, and you were doing his impression. You want to do it.
Speaker 2:I mean John Sterling as a baseball fan. I'm a baseball junkie, baseball fanatic. So I'm also big on the radio. I love listening to radio calls of games because you know they just do such a wonderful job describing the scene. It gets your imagination flowing. You're imagining yourself in Wrigley, in Fenway, in Dodger Stadium, in Bush Stadium. So I always enjoy, you know, listening to those 1 o'clock, 4 o'clock games. I'm at work, I'll put my headphones on and, boom, I'll listen to a Rockies. You know it's just to me, I just love it.
Speaker 2:So of course I know who John Sterling is. I mean, the man is a legend. He signifies so much for New York baseball that even if you don't like the Yankees, that even if you don't like the Yankees, you respect the man. He's at that Harry Carey type of level. He's at that all-time great play-by-plays that you just know that guy is associated with a special team. So to me I always respect them. But a few years ago I don't know if you remember John Sterling was playing. I think it was the Blue Jays. It was a Blue Jays game and there was a pop out that it went up in the air and it was coming towards him and he's doing the play by play and I remember he was like you know, the ball was coming and you know he said oh, the pop out is coming right at me, Right in the press box.
Speaker 2:And it went inside the press box and you hear him he's a ow, ow, ow. So I remember that that moment went viral and you felt bad for him because you know he's an older man and you know it would hurt for anybody. So two years ago the Yankees came here and I remember that we won that series 2-1. I don't bring that up but I'll bring it up. And I was leaving the stadium and all the Yankees fans, you know, because that's what I love about these big games with the Yankees and the Marlins there's so much banter going on and it's so, you know, emotion and you get all riled up. So I'm leaving there and I remember I was.
Speaker 2:You know the famous John Sterling call is every time they win is the Yankees win, the Yankees win, right? So what I started doing walking out of that stadium that year was the Yankees lose, the Yankees lose. And then I added a little bit of what had happened to them a few weeks ago and I go imitating how it happened. Man, the Yankee fans some of them were a little upset. My wife at the time she was pregnant and she was like you need to calm down because we need to get back to the car and you know I was, just like you know, having a good time.
Speaker 2:But that's an iconic call, right? You know? It's just like the the chris burman at the home run derby, back, back, back, back, back, back back. It's just something that you just know and associate with a call, you know. So I, I love that call and I and I, anytime I can do the Yankees lose, yankees lose. To me it's fun and I mean it in all good you know, for fun, because at the end of the day, sports is meant to be fun. It's a form of entertainment. We're here to just joke and have a good time. We all got to go to work. Our lives continue.
Speaker 1:Now your energy is contagious. You know, I say the joy of baseball and I'm watching you for five minutes into the game and I tap my nephew Clay on the leg and I'm like I got to get him on the podcast because that's what it's all about. And of course we're losing the whole game never any but I'm having a blast nonetheless watching you enjoy the game and then at the end, when I see you do the John Sterling, I'm like this is too good and your appreciation for baseball is apparent.
Speaker 2:I love baseball. I mean, I've grown up loving baseball. I was born in Nicaragua, in Central America. We are a baseball-loving country. That is our number one sport, that is our rey de porte, our king sport, right as we say it. So growing up over there, you watch a lot of MLB. Mlb is there every day. You watch every team, believe it or not. When I was a kid over there, I came to this great country when I was eight years old. So I came here in the year 2000. The Marlins were already here. So that's obviously the team that I'm going to adopt because that's the game that I can go to.
Speaker 2:But growing up as a kid, my grandfather was a huge believe it or not New York Yankees fan. So I remember those 98 World Series, that 99 World Series against. I believe 99 was the Braves and 98 was San Diego. You know, I remember the Subway Series of the year 2000. I knew El Duque Hernandez, the pitcher for the New York Yankees, from those early 2000 teams. His uncle was friends with my grandmother and I remember going to his house and during the time of the 2000-2001 teams when he was pitching for New York, I remember the old One World Series, seven-game instant classic against Arizona. So I remember growing up as a kid and I knew the Yankees and to a certain extent I liked the Yankees Again. That's why I do not hesitate saying I respect the heck out of them, because that's just a franchise that everybody should model to be. I would love to be that type, but you know what? I love my Marlins. So right now we're okay.
Speaker 2:But that's how I grew up, learning the game and loving the game. I wish I would have been physically able to play the game. I mean, there wasn't that many good sports genes. So I decided to transfer those genes to my brain and become a baseball fanatic and I just love the history of the game. It's just the most historic sport. We can go back so many years. Fall playoffs is just absolutely the best. I play this game where I'm always thinking about I can name you the 94 World Series, or there was no World Series in 94. I can name you the 95 World Series when the Yankees beat the Cleveland team. I can name you the Blue Jays back-to-back World Series. Right, I love playing that game of like who was in that World Series and my wife's like go to sleep and I'm like who was in the 2006 World Series, right? Tell me it was the Cardinals, right, it wasn't the Cardinals. And she's like I don't that's good stuff.
Speaker 1:You mentioned your family already, so I'm gonna I'm gonna jump ahead and ask you're a father?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah. So I'm a I'm a happy father of uh two little girls. Uh, my oldest, uh, she's almost six, she's a huge believe it or not, a huge baseball fan I was gonna ask you are you gonna raise?
Speaker 2:them. They have not missed an opening day since she was born. The only one that she missed was 2020. For obvious reasons, we did not have a baseball season. The little one, the middle one she is almost two years old, so her first opening day was this past year against the Pirates. So she's already experiencing that and I go to this little site by the kids' playground area at Marlins Park that I've been taking a picture of her every opening day in the same location because I'm building like a little collage right. So like year one, year two, year three, so eventually, hopefully, to me, opening day is like a family holiday.
Speaker 2:I take the day off from work, my wife takes the day off, we go with the kids and it's just a full day of we know baseball's back, and my wife is currently pregnant again, so she's about she's doing like three weeks. So congratulations, thank you, thank you. We're getting the boy now, so he'll definitely be a baseball fan, but to me it doesn't matter boy or girls. It's all about the love of the game and I wanted to make sure that my daughters love the game or at least I presented to them for them to have the option to love the game as much as I love it, and they enjoy going to the Marlins game. They do a great job for the kids.
Speaker 2:Sunday fun day you get to run the bases, billy the Marlin, they paint your face balloons and that's what the Marlins have to do. We don't have the history of the Yankees where you've had already you're going in five generations of Yankee fans, meaning you've had a great-great-grandfather that could have been a Yankee fan when the team was founded and you had a grandfather, and then the father, and now the sons and those kids are having. We are basically at our second generation of fanhood. So the kids that were fans of the Yankees when the Marlins started in 93, we're now having kids. So now it's our turn to bring that passion over and having kids. So now it's our turn to bring that passion over, and it's going to take time to build it. So that's why people forget. Even though we've won two World Series, we're still a fairly young team.
Speaker 1:So you were talking about your daughters being fans of baseball. I can appreciate that. One of the things you pointed out was the president of baseball operations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Caroline O'Connor. She's been with us for about four years. She's the president of baseball operations. Yeah, so Caroline O'Connor, she's been with us for about four, four years. She's the president of business operations.
Speaker 2:So she's basically she is not the president of baseball operations. That would be Peter Bendix, who's been. This is his second year. He came over from the Tampa Bay Rays. But Caroline O'Connor, she has come in and I believe she's one of the, if not the first or the only, female team president. As far as the business side which is a huge deal, because they are the ones making that, are part of the budgeting, and she's the one that's doing the business development for the franchise Since she's come in, we've seen the increase in sponsorship. They're doing a great job.
Speaker 2:With the branding, the ballpark has taken some major upgrades. You can see it on the display and it's just. I'm very proud to be a fan of that because, as a girl dad, you know I want my daughters to have those opportunities as well. Right, because we need to break those barriers of them just being jobs specifically for men. No, those are jobs specifically for the best person possible for the job. It shouldn't matter if it's a female or a male. As long as you are capable of doing that job, that's all we want, right? So we're very proud of that. That. She's doing a great job and I don't know if you saw the game experience Everything.
Speaker 2:Operations run smoothly there. Concession stands for a big crowd which we're not used to. On Saturday when we saw each other it was 34,000. At Stadium Hall it's 37. So we see that in the baseball classic Serie del Caribe, which, when we had that last year, we're attracting a lot of that. So it's very positive direction. So I'm very proud to be a Marlins fan just for that as well. She's great. By the way, you see her on the concourse. She'll stop by, she'll say hi to you. She's down in the PNC club, she's everywhere and she's very accessible, which is very refreshing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I really appreciated that you pointed her out. Me as a female sports fan, I really appreciated that and when I was younger, growing up, you didn't see women in sports. There were some, but not with the popularity that's happening now and not to bring the Yankees back up again, but when Derek Jeter was in the front office he actually brought her and Kim Ang in. They were in different positions Then. Kim Ang was the first female GM. So definitely a lot of respect for the Martin's front office over the years empowering women in these big positions, and I really like the fact that you, as a fan you know, recognized her and showed pride.
Speaker 2:Kim Ang also. I mean, she came in during that time. She was the first female GM. We didn't have a president of baseball operations at the time and when she left, after the 2023 season, which is a year, we made it to the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2003. We made it in 2020, but it was a short season, but for the first time since 2003, we made it to the playoffs under her leadership and obviously, you know, had some uh difference of opinions or I would say she didn't want a baseball president operation in there. I don't really know the details, nobody really knows but she decided you know her and the owner decided to part ways and she's doing great now. I believe she is the commissioner of the women baseball leagueball League, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the AUSL, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, yeah so she's doing great and I think that's going to be great and I believe we're going to have softball back in the Olympics in 2028. So we're seeing a lot of positive things. You know, caroline is doing great. I mean I'm very happy with all the progress that we're seeing. It's a young team. We're building something. They want some sustainability, which is something that we really want down here, because that's how we're going to grow. That's how we're going to get the fans back out there. I'm very excited about the future with that.
Speaker 1:You mentioned the World Baseball Classic and I had that down as a question for you. Did you attend any?
Speaker 2:of them.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Okay tell me a little bit about that, because I want to go. I think it's next year. You gotta go.
Speaker 2:You gotta go. So the World Baseball Classic gets held every four years. I've been to the 2017 one, the 2013 edition. Miami is the only host city that has been. Them and Tokyo have been the only cities that have held competition for the World Baseball Classic since it started. Back in 2006, the inaugural World Baseball Classic, which was won by Japan. They beat Cuba that year. Then in 2009, japan repeated in WBC 2013, had Dominican Republic, went undefeated and they won their first ever World Baseball Classic. And in 2017, finally, the US got on the board and we got our first World Baseball Classic title. And then it was supposed to happen in 21, but obviously COVID delayed it a little bit, so they brought it back in 2023. Miami Long Depot Park was actually a host for the first round quarter semis and then the final.
Speaker 2:I was lucky enough to have gone in 2023. My home country, nicaragua, actually qualified for the first time in our country's history to Classic. So I went to all the games except the opening one against Puerto Rico. I was there against Israel, but we lost three. A brutal game. That was the only one that we really had a shot. Then we lost 9-1 to the Dominicans and then the Venezuela game, which was a five-something game. I also went to the semifinal that year, which was Mexico against Japan. Instant Classic Otani was with against Japan. Instant classic Otani was with Team Japan. They were loaded against Mexico with Randy Orozarena and that game ended up in a walk-off in the ninth inning in the semifinal. And then I went to the final, which was the US against Japan, that famous Shohei Otani versus Mike Trout. Last pitch of the game, two outs. The US only needed a run and Otani struck him out. And I watched the Team Japan which, by the way, amazing fans, amazing media, those people were just super friendly and they won their World Baseball Classic title there. And next year we're back here.
Speaker 2:Nicaragua made it back to the World Baseball Classic, so you got to go. It's an experience that. It's something that, unless you're there, you don't see the love and the passion that the Latin community has for those teams. Right, venezuela has a huge Venezuelan population. Down here in South Florida they come out, the Dominicans. I mean you think, oh, it's just the locals. No, people were traveling. I was speaking to people from New York, orlando, atlanta, houston who were coming in from these games. Puerto Rico, the same thing.
Speaker 2:Japan. I'm going to send you some pictures that I took of Japan. They had a guy there banging a drum right in the outfield of the Budweiser the entire game. They were just there, you know, doing their chants. So as a baseball fan you don't get to experience that right. We all hear about the Japanese Baseball League, how great it is the Nippon Baseball League and how the fans go into the game. It's completely different from America, right? But you want to experience that. You want to feel that. You want to feel that. So next year is going to be fun, the game start.
Speaker 1:Mark six down here that you got to get yourself at least to one of those weekend games I'm planning on it, me and clay will have to do another road trip, he said, to tell you hello. By the way, clay was the man, clay was the man thank you, we will, um, we'll be there. I've been looking at it already and when you mentioned your background from Nicaragua and everything, I was like wait a minute. I definitely got to find out about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we made it. We made it. We have remember. Our greatest athlete we've ever had is the pitcher by the name of Dennis Martinez. Dennis Martinez El Presidente, latin American-born pitcher to pitch one of the three perfect games in MLB history in 1993. He did it with the Montreal Expos against the LA Dodgers in something like two hours. The other day I was looking at the game logs. It was insane because it was like the 34-year anniversary. He was the first Latin pitcher to do it. No Latin pitcher to that time had pitched a perfect game. There's only been 23 of them. It's something very rare. Right to see a perfect game. So to us, dennis Martinez is our goat. He's our legend and we always love Dennis Martinez.
Speaker 1:As you should. So, speaking of South Florida, the high school baseball programs in the Miami Fort Lauderdale area are legit. I'm a big high school baseball fan here in Key West. Do you follow any of the high school teams?
Speaker 2:So I'm a huge Miami Hurricanes baseball fan, miami Hurricanes football fan. Basketball, I'm a huge. It's all about the U baby, it's all about the U right. So, of course, knowing that you have to love baseball down here because it's just part of our fabric, you know we have so much talent that leaves the tri-county area that goes on to MLB it's insane, right. And they all have a start here. You know you have your powerhouses, you have your private schools, you have your local schools.
Speaker 2:You go to Broward, art, bishop, stoneman Douglas those are powerhouse teams that are producing MLB talent and sometimes even ready right out of high school. So it's a very strong foundation, especially in. You're seeing that growth in Broward. You've always had it in Palm Beach, but Broward has stepped up their game and obviously Miami-Dade has always produced top talent Kids that are going to play in the big conferences in college baseball the SEC, the Big 10, Big 12, acc, and now some of them are getting drafted. I mean, we see that all the time and you're starting to see those generational kids starting to come out of here, right, our Manny Machados of the world, miami local kid right. You see a lot of those kids that you're thinking the pitcher for the Yankees was born in Miami the one that pitched on Friday, he is from Miami and then he moved to North Carolina and he went to NC State.
Speaker 2:But, originally he's Cuban background, parents were Cuban. He's a Miami kid, so you'd be surprised how many of those kids. And not only that, the training it's next level. Here, you know, you have some top-notch professional coaches that are teaching at the high school level, which is very good and it's very healthy for the whole game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you want to see good baseball in South Florida, from little leagues to the high schools, college and now with the Marlins. The Marlins are hot right now, so they're sitting in third place place about little less than 50 games left in the season. What do you want to see out of your boys for the next? You know, third, the last third of the season to end up in the wild card spot so.
Speaker 2:So the marlins this year uh, obviously, last year we kind of had a rebuild, the 2023 team that made it to the wild card. I believe we qualified and you might have to check me on this, but I believe that they made the playoffs that year with the worst run differential ever in MLB history for a playoff team. We were negative 40-something. We were negative 40-something. I mean we were just scrapping by a bunch of 3-1, 3-2 games, close games, and then we got blown up a couple of times. So they realized that that team had kind of peaked and the best we could do was a wild card. Right, we're a smart market team, meaning you cannot take many chances on free agents because it's going to cripple your franchise, it's going to cripple your dollars. It's going to cripple your dollars. So last year they got rid of Luis Arias, we got rid of Trevor Rogers, we got rid of Jake Berger. A lot of people really left the team and we got a lot of young talent that came in.
Speaker 2:Jazz Chisholm went to the Yankees and then this year coming in, I thought, okay, maybe this team. Many of the riders, many of the experts were saying this was a 64 to 65 win team. You know a little bit better from last year last and the fact that this team they started a little rough, but come June, after we got swept by the Rockies, by the way, the Rockies did something at Long Depot Park that the Yankees could not do and that was to sweep the Marlins. We got swept by the Rockies at the beginning of June. Nobody was paying attention because the Panthers were in the Stanley Cup playoffs and we were all focused on that, but that did happen. It was a Monday through Wednesday series. I'll never forget and I thought okay, maybe this team is just not there yet. A lot of young talent, A lot of kids aren't ready there. Then we got called up Agustin Ramirez, the guy who pitched two home runs against the Yankees on Saturday.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was there, I saw. I don't I don't mean to keep reminding you he decided to come. You know we caught him up and the kid has been killing it. He was the centerpiece of the jazz chism trade. Kyle Stowers, our all-star representative, who was part of that home run derby to decide the all-star game, which was amazing, by the way, they need to bring that.
Speaker 2:I loved it. I loved it. I mean, mean, I thought it was great. I have some, I have some ideas for that. I think you should do like. You should have two regular players and then each manager can say let me get the parking attendant against the lady who's selling arepas, right and let them go at it to have a little bit of spice. You know, you heard it here first. Hey, I'm just saying.
Speaker 2:But so this team was young, energetic, and then mid-June we just went on a hot streak and started. It all started when we went to the West Coast. We swept the Giants, who at the time had just traded for Rafael Devers and they were looking good, and we swept them in Oracle Park beautiful park, by the way, one of my favorite parks I've ever been to and we swept also the Arizona Diamondbacks who two years ago won the World Series. They were a contending team, they were ahead of us in the wildcard and they just got on this roll that they kept winning series and series. So as a Vardens fan, I'm just already. To me it's already a win Because the fact that we're seeing this young, talented team develop. We're the youngest team in the majors. We have the youngest coaching staff in the majors and the fact that we're seeing progress, because that's all we can ask for. We're not there yet at the Dodgers level. We're not there yet at those teams that are expected to contend this year, but what we, a fan base, should be happy about is that we're seeing progress. We're seeing Kyle Stowers, we're seeing Marcy, who just got called up and is killing it right now. We're seeing Troy Johnson, we're seeing all these kids and the pitching depth is getting around pitching a lot better.
Speaker 2:So, to me, even if we don't make the playoffs because it's going to be very difficult, I have to be realistic.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of teams ahead of us, teams that were buyers at the trade deadline. We were not, we stayed idle. But the fact that if we are somehow able to continue and just keep progressing and getting better, and if we can get to 75 wins this year, to me a 10, 15 game you know that's what it's all about and if we somehow magically get to 82 and 80, I mean we should just do the parade even if we didn't win a championship, because that's already something that you built for next year, right? So to me, as long and my favorite part is, every game has been fun. I go out to the ballpark and every game is a closed game. We're in it, we're in it, we're in it. In the seventh day this is a one run game, two run game. Here. Those days of getting completely blown out are gone. That's what we were dealing with last year. So I just want to see this team get better and better and let's just continue to build for the future.
Speaker 1:And you have such good talent. You mentioned Kyle Stauer. He was the National League Player of the Month. Yes, you know, you mentioned he was an all-star and he just backed that up with Player of the Month for July, first time since Stanton.
Speaker 2:First time since Mike Stanton in 2017, when he had that magical NL MVP season, that he had 59 home runs, so you're still calling Mike, I'm still him Mike, because Mike came up as a Mike and he will go down as a Mike in my eyes. I bought a jersey that said Mike Stanton, even though it didn't have his first name, but in my eyes it did.
Speaker 1:I just call him the Big G. The Martins and the Yankees have a history of trading players. You mentioned Jazz Chisholm, so the Yankees have a history of trading players. You mentioned Jazz Chisholm, so the Yankees get Jazz Chisholm for a couple of prospects, one of which is Augustine Ramirez. I think you guys call him the bus.
Speaker 2:Yes, the Augustine bus, Gus the bus, gus the bus.
Speaker 1:He does this thing here. That's his thing, and he showed up and showed out. So game one of the series ended up being a dramatic extra innings walk-off win, and he got that little dribbling to the pitcher's mound that ends up scoring the run 12-13. Yeah, and the next day he comes up and hits two home runs, of which I never saw the ball land because you're sitting in front of me and as soon as it went off the bat, you stood up.
Speaker 1:So the best I could do was see between your hands. Have you got any video of that?
Speaker 2:I don't think I got a video of Augustine Ramirez, because as soon as he hit those lasers, I mean they were out of there. Those exit belos must have been above a hundred something, because they were so quick that it's just the kid is ridiculous, you know, and that's what we want, right? And he's so young and they're so disciplined at the plate, which is so rare for young players to come in and get called up and not have strikeout issues. These kids are taking their time. That's veteran leadership right there. So I mean, I don't think it was a bad trade for the yankees.
Speaker 2:You guys got jazz chisholm yeah, he's a superstar. He's a superstar that he was in the cover mlb the mlb the show in 2023. I mean we used to have a thing back in 2023 that it was called the Jazz Band and Jazz used to come out and he was playing center fielder that year for us because we wanted to try him out there and we used to be in the outfield. It was called the Jazz Section. Oh, it was great. I mean he was always great with the fans and Jazz always has a special place in our heart because he played the game the way it was and he was very fiery against the Braves, which I love, because I don't like the Braves. So every time that somebody can, you know, fight the Braves, you know with his, you know, get a little aggressive, I love that. I love that. That's what rivalries are for.
Speaker 2:And he has a great life story too. You know he comes from the Bahamas he talks about. They asked him one time who's the best baseball player you ever saw. He goes my grandmother. He used to play baseball with his grandmother. He says that she used to take grounders from him and she taught him the game. Because baseball is not big in the Bahamas, right? People think that, oh, it's a Caribbean country. They're more into soccer, right, that's more into soccer. Right, that's more into a soccer. The cricket is huge there. So baseball is not the number one sport. So the fact that you have a superstar, basically a guy that's on mob the show, which is so big for young kids to have somebody like that, that's already saying a lot about him.
Speaker 1:So you always root for a guy like the other big one you mentioned, mike Mike Stanton, giancarlo Stanton, that was a big trade, no.
Speaker 2:I mean that was that year that Jeter took over after the team sold to Bruce Sherman from our previous owner, jeffrey Loria, and at that time I think the team was kind of wanting to go a different route. Mike Stanton did say he didn't really want to be part of a rebuild. I mean he had been with a rebuild already. Part of a rebuild. I mean he had been with a rebuild already. People forget that Marlins, in 2016, had an outfield that consisted of Mike Stanton, marcelo Zuna and Christian Yelich. We forget about that. Like that. If you look at it, if you look at the careers of those players, that is a Hall of Famer a guy that has been consistently a power hitter in Marcelo Zuna and a guy that has been the NL MVP in 28 Christian Yelich I mean that was the alpha that the Marlins had. So he got traded and you know I love Mike Stanton. To me, he will always be Mike Stanton. He got called up here in 2010. He was the face of the franchise when we opened up that ballpark which I was there, by the way opening day in 2012, april 4th 2012.
Speaker 2:I was there with my then girlfriend. We only had standing room only tickets, because the tickets were super expensive and I was only making 12 bucks an hour so I couldn't afford real tickets. So I told her hey, listen, they're going to have standing room only tickets for 25 bucks. Are you down to go? And she's like, yeah, so we go, I buy the tickets. But then I forgot to mention to her that I wanted to be there at 2.30, even though the game was at 7, because I really wanted a good spot at the standing room.
Speaker 2:So when I call her at noon, I'm like, hey, are you ready? She's like the game's not until 7. I'm like, hey, are you ready? She's like the game's not until 7. I'm like, no, no, we got to go now. So I was one of the first persons to enter in the outfield, with a little stair section by center field there, and Stanton was always the face of the franchise. Stanton was the man. He is the liver for us 2016,. We were so close to making it to the playoffs for the Jose Fernandez unfortunate accident that took his life and Stanton took a ball to the face and people forget about that. The Marlins were a wild card team.
Speaker 2:The Marlins were a wild card team in Milwaukee and we were only two games back on the wild card and Stanton was killing it. He was probably going to win the NL MVP that year too. He had just won the home run derby that year. You know people forget that and he got hit in the face. Unfortunately. I think it fractured his orbicle and it was just a nasty, nasty injury and that completely derailed our season. And then, obviously, the Jose accident that happened later that month in September. So Stanton always was an awesome guy, you know, great to the fans, and he just if you still go out there, go to the outfield you still see, they still have the ball that he hit the longest ball at that ballpark. If it wasn't for those windows that were out at the outfield, some of those balls would have left the ballpark because he was just I mean mid-2010s. Mike Stanton was different.
Speaker 1:He is special and of all the players for the Yankees, I was so excited to see them in person. We had great seats, as you know, and all the players I saw seeing him I got the most you know the butterflies and my heart was racing, just a monster, you know. I was hollering at him that I loved him and I always loved him. You know he didn't even look back at me, but I think he heard me yeah.
Speaker 2:I know he's just a monster, he's just a great guy. And hey, who was the only one that truly showed up in the World Series last year?
Speaker 1:That's it, that's it, that's it. That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:That's all I want to say he was a former Marlin, that's why he showed up.
Speaker 1:So, speaking of former Marlins, Yankees and World Series, the other trade I was going to mention to you that the Marlins got from the Yankees that I think favored the Marlins was Mike Lowe.
Speaker 2:Mike Lowe, one of my all-time favorite Marlins Mine too. He is the definition of what an amazing player he was in that 2013. Right, I mean, he just he was that leadership that that team needed. He went on to have a great career. Then he got, you know, he left to the Red Sox and he won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2000. He was part of that Jonathan Popobon team that went all the way, and I believe Josh Beckett was part of that team as well. But Mike Lowell is just, I mean everything. He is a local guy. He's just amazing. I love Mike Lowell. He's up there with one of my all-time favorite Marlins and, believe it or not, I believe there is a future Marlins Hall of Fame calling Mike Lowell.
Speaker 1:Hey, I agree and I will be there for that one. It was nice to see Conine in it, obviously. And then Jack, we were able to be at the game on Sunday. The skipper was inducted, he looked great.
Speaker 2:By the way, he looked great 93 years old and he looked amazing. I mean he threw that ball perfectly down. I mean I want to look like that when I'm 60, not 93. I mean the guy looked amazing and he still spoke sharp. I mean he still has it. He was 78 years old when he won the World Series.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with his cigar right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the cigar. The famous Jack McKinnon, jim Leland is also part of the Marlins Hall of Fame. This is the inaugural class that they started this year. I don't know if you got to check it out, but it's actually in the 200-level section of the stadium. You can get up there very quick. Right outside the suites they have a nice little hallway. They have now the little plaques they've already inducted. I was there for the conan one on opening weekend that sunday. Jim was a couple of weeks ago, jack mckeon was this past sunday and we have one more part of this 225 class which is a.
Speaker 1:Luis castillo was going in there this year yeah, I didn't get to see the hall of fame. We kept asking. I got to see the bobblehead collection, which was pretty cool, but it wasn't what I was looking for you got to go up their second floor and you'll see.
Speaker 2:They actually even have the world series trophies lined up 97 2003. They have a nice little wall of fame of all the players that won rookie of the year, cy, young's, all those type of individual awards as well I.
Speaker 1:I definitely want to go back and you were talking about that earlier the ballpark, the fan experience was wonderful. Nothing but compliments. I went to plenty of games when they were at Joe Robbie and that was torturous watching baseball in the baseball stadium.
Speaker 2:Talk about a heat stroke. Don't talk to me about a Sunday 110 at Joe Robbie Pro Player Dolphin Stadium in the middle of the summer. Those bright orange seats I mean you needed to buy a Gatorade just so you could pour it on your seat so you wouldn't burn your butt when you would sit there. I mean it was just. I don't regret that. I do miss my Super Saturdays.
Speaker 2:They used to have, they used to have concerts out there. I mean it was just a fun time, I mean, and I wish they would have built the stadium more in a central location. I think that really does hurt, unfortunately, the Broward fan base, the Palm Beach fan base, and that's why, you see, the crowds are much better on Saturday and Sunday compared to a regular weekday because it's really hard to get down to Little Havana. It's a great stadium and I think it's great for the community. But if you would have built it where Dolphin, where Hard Rock Stadium is, somewhere in the middle, where you could have tracked that Broward and Palm Beach crowd, that maybe they can go out on a Friday night or a Monday, tuesday game against the Astros, to me it would have been better. But hey, it's already built there. Let's hope that we can get great crowds on the weekends, as we've been doing the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll definitely go back. I'm only three and a half hours away and the fact that I haven't been there. I still call it the new stadium and it's been there. What 12, 13?
Speaker 2:It opened up April 4, 2012. So this is already their 13th season, which is crazy. Which is crazy because it feels like it was yesterday that we were building that stadium. The Orange Bowl was there. It feels like it was yesterday.
Speaker 1:I will definitely go back. Let me ask you, because we talked a little bit about this already. The Marlin ownership historically is known for the big trades and turning the team fire cells and everything just when you fall in love, they, they rebuild, and that whole thing played for years and years in a stadium that wasn't a baseball stadium. What is it about the marlins that have kept your loyalty and earned your loyalty over the years?
Speaker 2:So I'm a baseball fanatic. Baseball lover, I mean sometimes my wife's, like you need to go to sleep because I'm watching the A's play the Giants, because it's a robbery game on a Wednesday at 1 am, right Like I just love watching baseball.
Speaker 1:West Coast games. You even watch West Coast games.
Speaker 2:I'll watch West Coast games, teams that I just built as a fan, as a kid, I mean in 2003,. I was only 11 years old, right. So I remember that team. That was like my first true love championship team. What a fun experience. So that has kept me.
Speaker 2:I've always loved going to Marlins game. I think it's a great experience, even when we were at Joe Robbie. So to me it's never been an issue. Do I get my heart breaking? Absolutely.
Speaker 2:I mean it happened because, unfortunately, I do also understand that baseball is a business, right, and we just simply are not the big market, big spending team. We will never be. Why? Because we don't have the corporate support that teams in New York or Boston, those historic franchises, big corporations that are willing to spend money into it. Our local TV deal here, compared to the Dodgers making $250 million a year, we're making maybe $60 to $75. So, yes, do I wish we had an owner that would spend more, absolutely. But then again, I understand it's a business and the fans aren't showing up, so it's kind of like the chicken or the egg type of thing. Do we spend the money and build the championship team, but then people say, well, they're only going to do it for a year and then they're going to trade everybody, like we did in 2012. But then that team was also badly constructed, so I understood why we did it Right.
Speaker 2:So I just think we had to find a median to see OK, we need to find a budget that is respectable at MLB levels, somewhere in the one to one forty million dollar range, but then we also need the community to support it a little bit better. But you know it's also, you can't expect people to spend money, because everybody has different situations. Right, not everybody can afford tickets all the time, so it's a little bit complicated. But I think the way that they're doing it right now, I think that's the tampa bay way. Right, teams that build players. You unfortunately have to get rid of them, right, when your trade value is up and but as long as you keep that consistent winning product, consistently competing for the division.
Speaker 2:This team has never won a division title ever. We've won two World Series and we have never won a division title, which is crazy. Right, you had the 90 Braves that won 15 or 16 in a row. Then you had the Phillies in the mid-2000s, the Mets going to the World Series in 2015 against the Royals, then you had the Braves again. So it's always been. That's just not who we are, and we are also in a division with the New York Mets highest payroll in baseball, the Phillies top 10, the Braves top 15. Even the Nationals have money that they spend on.
Speaker 1:So I just think it's you have to love it that you're above the Braves and the Nationals. That's right.
Speaker 2:You're competing.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, a tough challenge with the Phillies and the Mets.
Speaker 2:You're never going to be able to compete with them, and unless you get an owner like Uncle Stevie that's willing to just, you know, have so much money in the world that to them it's just a hobby. You know maybe, but is that proven to be a winning solution? I don't think so, because last time I checked, the Mets and the Marlins have the same amount of World Series.
Speaker 2:Just saying Just saying and actually we've won two World Series. This is the last one of the World Series in 1986. All thanks to Bill Buckner. Just saying I don't want to stir it up or anything.
Speaker 1:And I'll just add to it they never going to win it with Juan Soto, because now they cursed.
Speaker 2:He cursed Enjoy it, enjoy it. Kyle Stowers has better numbers than Juan Soto.
Speaker 1:He's doing it up. It's for the love of the game. At the end of the day, why do we keep going back? The Yankees haven't won a championship in a very long time. But it's for the love of the game, right, that's right, I mean you've won.
Speaker 2:09 was the last time the Yankees won a World Series against the Phillies. I think it was a. That wasn't a rematch. Then they went to the World Series again last year, and before that it had been a minute.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we even missed the playoffs the year before too. The year before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which is super rare. That just doesn't happen we're spoiled for sure.
Speaker 1:You know, we can talk forever and I'd love to have you back. Right, I'd love to have you back, we can talk playoffs, playoffs, maybe playoffs. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Playoffs. My little Dennis impersonation Playoffs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if by chance the Marlins and the Yankees get in, we'll have you back, or even if not, because obviously you know the game.
Speaker 2:We can talk playoff previews. We can talk down the line wild card. You know, I love baseball. I love talking baseball. I mean, my wife is probably happy that I'm out here talking baseball, so she doesn't have to hear me talking baseball. You know, I'm already going to play a game when she's in labor. I'm going to tell her. I'll be like, hey, name me the 2006 World Series, give me your 2013. Who's the only team that won back-to-back-to-back World Series in even years? Oh, the 2010, 2012, and 2014 San Francisco Giants. You know that type of nonsense. Let's see if she remembers that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know if she'd appreciate that or not. We'll give it a shot. We'll give it a shot. Just stay far enough that she can't reach out and grab you, that's right, that's right, I'd like to end the episode with a segment that I call For the Cycle and I ask you four questions and, just like completing a cycle in baseball, it gets harder as it goes. Okay, you ready for?
Speaker 2:it. I'm ready, I was born ready.
Speaker 1:All right, let's go. Question number one what would your walk-up song?
Speaker 2:be Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Luke Combs that song's been on my playlist lately. It's a great song.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I've heard that, bro it's a great song.
Speaker 2:It came out in his album from two years ago last year, fathers and Son. It's called Take Me Out to the Ballgame. It hits you when you have kids. You're like, oh, stop it. Luke.
Speaker 1:All right, the next question what's your favorite baseball movie? I?
Speaker 2:mean love the rookie. I love field of dreams, but I like, I'm gonna say the rookie very good.
Speaker 1:I haven't heard that one yet.
Speaker 2:I love the rookie that movie is so good with his arm just snap I remember I was trying to injure my arm to see if it would like magically appear I could become an mlb pitcher when I was 12. I could become an MLB pitcher when I was 12.
Speaker 1:That's a classic. And I just watched Field of Dreams two nights ago, okay, and I watched a perfect game last night.
Speaker 2:There's one that came out a few years ago I think it was with Dennis Quaid that he makes it to the MLB as like he was, like a former teacher I'm trying to think of the name of it- it was with the.
Speaker 2:Rangers with the rangers movie. It was a disney movie and he made it to to the like, he was a pitcher he and something had happened and then he was already like a high school teacher, like in some small town in iowa. And I remember, like you know, he goes to the major, to the minors and his wife's, like you know, follow your dream and his kid, and then he gets, he goes to the major, to the minors and his wife's, like you know, follow your dream and his kid, and then he gets called up to the majors, right, and that scene when he I mean I cry like a baby when his son's like that's dad, that's my dad, and he's oh, my God, that's a great movie. I'm going to find we got to find out the name of that movie.
Speaker 1:Yeah it, we got to find out the name of that movie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a great movie.
Speaker 1:I'll find out. I'll put it up when I do the edit. I'll put it up there. But yeah, look it up, because I'm going to ask you two more and they get a little bit harder. I got to have your undivided attention, but while you're looking it up, Sandlot, is that one there?
Speaker 2:That's my favorite All the time, the Bambino.
Speaker 1:So many good baseball movies.
Speaker 2:I think baseball has produced the best sports movies out of all the sports Football. You have some good ones, but baseball just has that emotional. You can go comedic with Major League, for example, or you go with something emotional that touches your it's. I found the name, by the way, of the movie, the Dennis Quaid movie. It's called the Rookie. The Rookie, the one I was telling you about, is Rookie of the Year, is the one that we were talking about, but this one is called the Rookie and it came out in 2002.
Speaker 1:All right, very good, I'm glad you looked it up. I'm going to pull both of those up and watch them again because I haven't seen them in a really long time and nobody has brought those up. So good on you for pulling something that will pull at everybody's heartstrings. Get your Kleenex ready, All right. The third question what's one player that the Marlins have traded away that it still hurts, that you wish would have retired and finished his career as a Marlin?
Speaker 2:So to me that's a tough question because most of our players I mean we had Conant who came back, part of the 0-3 team but most of our players that have left kind of like gone. But there was one that I mean I just love this man. He was so good and then he went to the Braves, that was Dan Ugla. I mean Dan the man Ugla. Those mid-2000 years when he was with Hanley Ramirez, I mean hitting jacks, second baseman, the kid was just all muscle and he was just a beast, even though he had an error in the all-star game that year.
Speaker 2:I remember, yeah, let's, let's not bring that up. Yeah, I mean, it's just, dan ugla was just awesome. I love dan ugla and when he left and he went to the braves and that didn't work out, so his career kind of didn't end the way I thought it would have. But I always felt, man, if he would have way, I thought it would have. But I always felt, man, if he would have stayed with us he would have been a generational player, right, and obviously the one that to this day it still pains me. It's not that he got traded, but when we lost Jose Fernandez, I mean the, the toll it took on. The community was just, it was.
Speaker 1:it was rough yeah, that that was. That was really touching. So I think I told you at the game that I was all in on the marlins for 17 years did I tell you that.
Speaker 1:No, you didn't tell me that yeah, so maybe I was telling the guy on sunday. So because I grew up here in south florida when what you were talking about earlier, when we, we didn't have a team, no, no, you adopted. So when the marlins came about it, I was all in fan club the whole thing. I still got a you know, hat the whole thing.
Speaker 1:But after they traded dan ugla to the braves, that was it for me I had to cut him off. I couldn't. And that was 17 years, if you look it up, you know, when I tell people 17 years, that was the trade broke my heart and um, it's funny that you, you say that. See, I think me and you might be brothers or sisters or something, man, man, when you say that I was like were your parents in nicaragua around the 90s?
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:No right, I'm just saying but no, that was one. He was just such a great player.
Speaker 2:He's just a regular guy. You know dead ugly, you feel like you would see him. You know at Home Depot picking up stuff to go work on his backyard. Or you know just a regular guy that I would see at a parent's PTA meeting. Right, just nothing out of it. That's why the fan loved him. Maybe he's listening, hey, dan. I'm taking an autograph, let's go Dan the man, dan the man.
Speaker 1:All right. The last question, and this one's going to be a tough one. I don't really like to do trendy things, but this is kind of a trendy question. You see on the internet what's your Mount Rushmore of Marlin players? So you got four guys. Who's on that mountain?
Speaker 2:See people think it's like, oh the Marlins, they've lost so much. No, no, there's a lot of all-time greats that have gone through this organization. I would have to say I mean, we have to. It's tough, right, because you have some guys that did some great things while they were with the Marlins and then you had some guys that were Marlins and then they became great things right. So it's kind of like somewhere in between, as far as, like my Mount Rushmore players that I personally love that wore the Marlins colors right.
Speaker 1:Who brought joy to the game. All time your guys.
Speaker 2:First one, giancarlo Mike Stanton. I mean, he carried us from that time he got called up in 2010, all the way till you he left in 2017. He was the face of the franchise. He gave me one of my favorite moments mother's day 2012. I took my mom out to see the the marlins against the mets walk off grand slam, bottom of the ninth, to send us home. I mean, he's just. To me, mike stanton was just amazing. The home runs that we saw. We may never see a guy with that much power ever wear a Marlins uniform in our lifetime. So to me, you cannot say greatest Marlins of all time without Mike Stanton. Simple, basically, that's just how it is.
Speaker 2:Number two Miguel Cabrera. Miguel Cabrera, I mean Miggy. The man came in in 2003. Rookie just dominated everything. I mean the guy was just killing. It had a home run of the Rocket Roger Clemens in the World Series. I mean as a 19-year-old, against Roger Clemens, who was at the end of his career but had been pitching since the 80s, still the best, who was still throwing 100 miles per hour, and you hit a home run off him in the World Series. I mean, how can Miggy not be? And you know, we traded him to Detroit in 2007. But he just the definite, of course, triple crown winner All-time. You know, just a legend, the latin community as far as all-time great number two, miguel cabrera.
Speaker 2:Number three I'm gonna have to go a picture here. I gotta go with a picture here because I need to show some love to a picture now. I'm between sandy who's, who won in 2022, and he's just been the face of the franchise. He's a workhorse. How can I not go with a man that brought so much joy to the city? Dontrell D-Train Willis I mean the D-Train, the D-Train. He took baseball over with that instinct, just that passion, that love.
Speaker 2:The kid from Oakland that just was out there just dominating little sideweight hat, just the coolness, you know. Super great to the fans and that delivery, that high leg up there. You know he'd get up there, just throw you that. You know that 2004 season People forget 2003,. He won the World Series, but 2004,. I mean the guy who should have won the Cy Young in 2004. I mean that's just ridiculous. Just one of the greatest of all time. You know his numbers or his stats might not say he's a one, but in the heart of Marlins fans I mean Dontrell D-Train. I mean just amazing. And my favorite. I'm going to have to go with another pitcher because people forget about him, but those years he is probably the most underrated pitcher we've ever had. Injuries kind of took a toll on him, but those couple of years he was the best pitcher in baseball.
Speaker 2:Josh Johnson People don't talk enough about JJ. I mean Josh Johnson in 2010, 2011,. I mean Josh Johnson in 2010, 2011, when he went toe-to-toe with Roy Holiday in 2010,. That Roy Holiday you know. Rest in peace, roy Holiday, who threw a perfect game in 2010. I mean, and Josh Johnson was the other pitcher and he only allowed one run and it was on an error, like people of 2020.
Speaker 2:And Josh Johnson was dominating. I mean, he opened up that stadium in 2012 against adam wainwright and and he was the face of the franchise and, just you know, injuries took a toll on him. He wasn't like mr personality, so a lot of people, but all time greats, you know there and you, honorable mention, can't leave Jose out, because Jose just brought so much joy to the game and he was just fun when he took that mound. He hit a home run against the Braves in 2013, his last game, because they were shutting him down and I was there at that stadium and Brian McCann I call him the Pope of baseball got so mad because Jose Fernandez was running the bases super excited rookie hitting a home run. He's a pitcher back when pitchers used to bat and he got so mad and got in his face and I was ready to go on the field myself. Man, you're bringing back memories.
Speaker 1:It's good stuff and your love for the Marlins, your love, love for baseball exudes. I'm so glad that our paths crossed that day and I hope we keep each other's number. I knew you were gonna be good on this show. I appreciate you. Please tell Momo I said hi if you see him. Good luck with the baby coming around the corner.
Speaker 1:Thank you, thank you and let's go, baseball's go. I'm Joy Nulish and I appreciate you tuning into my podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share and subscribe, because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can find more joyful content on YouTube, the socials or check my website at joynulishcom. Now go, surround yourself with the things that bring joy to your world. Until next time, much love.
