25-Year Marliniversary: Fish Get First-Ever Walk-Off Win

Now in their 26th season as a Major League Baseball franchise, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had plenty of thrilling finishes and heartbreaking defeats.

Few things in baseball are as thrilling as the walk-off victory. The Marlins experienced their first one ever on this day 25 years ago.

It was May 1, 1993 as the Florida Marlins welcomed in their expansion sister, the Colorado Rockies, for the middle game of a 3-game set at Joe Robbie Stadium. It also marked the beginning of the first ever May for both franchises.

The contest had gone scoreless for four innings until the 12th. After Bryan Harvey worked a perfect top half of the inning for the Marlins, Rick Renteria, who entered the game during a double switch in the 11th inning, hit a sharp single to left field to score Jeff Conine and give the Marlins their first ever walk-off victory.

Conine looked as though he might be the hero earlier in the game. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he took Colorado's David Nied deep for a grand slam to put the Marlins ahead, 6-3.

That lead would last only until the seventh when Colorado put a 3-spot on the board. After RBI singles from Andres Galarraga and Charlie Hayes cut the lead to one, Rockies' catcher and future Marlins' manager Joe Girardi evened the game with an RBI groundout.

It was the second 3-run inning of the contest for the Rockies, who broke through early with three runs in the first inning off Florida starter Charlie Hough. The Marlins chipped away with two runs on back-to-back RBI singles from Alex Arias and Walt Weiss in the bottom of the second inning before going ahead on the Conine blast.

Harvey was the winning pitcher after he, Cris Carpenter, Bob McClure and Trevor Hoffman combined to work 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Steve Reed took the loss for the Rockies.

The Marlins have had plenty of other walk-off wins since then, including in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series and Game 4 of the 2003 World Series. The first one ever however, came from an unlikely hero and came on this day 25 years ago.

Mike Ferguson is the founder of Marlins Memories. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

15-Year Maliniversary: Lowell Becomes First Marlin to Homer Three Times in One Game

Image
Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images Third baseman Mike Lowell certainly had his share of postseason heroics with the Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox, but on this day 15 years ago, the Gold Glove third baseman did something that no Marlin had ever done -- leave the yard three times in one game. The defending world champion Florida Marlins were riding high on April 21, 2004 as they looked to clinch the series by taking the middle game of a 3-game set at Citizens Bank Park against the Philadelphia Phillies. Florida was 9-4 on the young season compared to just 5-7 for Philadelphia. Through five and a half innings, a solo home run by Lowell off Philadelphia starter Eric Milton to lead off the second inning accounted for all the scoring. Then in the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies pushed across five runs with a 2-run homer from Jim Thome putting Philadelphia ahead. Trailing 5-1 entering the seventh, Florida answered back with five runs of its own. After the Marlins pushed...
Read more

Marlins' Top 5 Mother's Day Moments

Image
(Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports) Whether you're just enjoying a day with mom, taking her out to the ballgame or trying just to leave her alone, there's one thing about Mother's Day and the Florida/Miami Marlins. They've played on that day every year since their inception in 1993. This year's opponent for the second Mother's Day in a row will be the Atlanta Braves. Whether you get to watch the action or are busy with mom, we've got the good times for you. Here's a look at the top five moments in Marlins' history on Mother's Day: 5. Moore's Pinch-Hit Blast May 14, 2017 For most of last season's Mother's Day contest, the Miami Marlins had been unable to figure out Atlanta Braves' starting pitcher R.A. Dickey. Through six innings, the Marlins had been kept off the scoreboard and held to three hits. Trailing 1-0 in the seventh however, the Marlins had something brewing. After Giancarlo Stanton doubled and A.J...
Read more

15-Year Marliniversary: Lowell's Walk-Off Blast in Extras Lifts Fish Past Mets

Image
Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images Over the last couple weeks, the Miami Marlins have had their fair share of exciting victories. That was also the case for the then-Florida Marlins on this day 15 years ago. The Marlins were 28-20 and in first place in the National League East as they prepared for the middle game of a three-game set against the New York Mets at Pro Player Stadium on May 29, 2004. Florida took the lead in the first as Lenny Harris grounded into a double play to plate a run. The Mets drew even on a Ty Wiggington solo homer in the second inning and took the lead in the fourth on a Karim Garcia RBI single. Álex González’s RBI single in the bottom of that inning scored Jeff Conine and evened the contest. Florida had won in walk-off fashion more than a week before against the Arizona Diamondbacks on a bases-loaded walk to Mike Redmond, but the only walk-off home run of the season for 2004 would come against the Mets off the bat of Mike Lowell. An All-Star, ...
Read more