Greatest Moments in Marlins History: #44 Above .500

July 24, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez (left) talks with former Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon (right) before a game at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to the Greatest Moments in Marlins History. Yesterday we talked about Jack McKeon taking over the Marlins in 2003, and how that was one of the turning points for the 2003 team. Another moment that could be taken as a turning point is our moment 44, when the Marlins were finally over .500.

At one point during the 2003 season the Marlins were 10 games under .500, and even with the coaching change it didn’t look like the Marlins would contend that year. Ha, yea right. The Marlins started to cut into that 10 game deficit. The day finally came when on July 1, 2003 the Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves to finally be 1 game above .500, with a record of 43-42. Why does that day sound familiar? Oh yea, that was the day the Marlins won 20-1 against the Braves (Moment 80). Sadly, the Marlins lost the next game to the Braves 2-1 and went back to .500. Being .500 did not last, though.

On July 4, 2003 at Veterans Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies the Marlins wanted to get over that .500 hump again. Kevin Millwood and Carl Pavano were pitching gems of a game. That was until Ivan Rodriguez reached on a throwing error in the 4^th which scored Juan Pierre. The Phillies answered back in the 8^th when Marlon Byrd ground out and scored David Bell to tie the game at 1-1. The Marlins answered back the next inning when Derrek Lee singled in Mike Lowell to take a 2-1 lead. Braden Looper made up for his mistake in the 8^th and secured the win in the 9^th. The Marlins would be above .500 again with a record of 44-43. They would never again be under .500 that season.

Join me tomorrow as we talk about one of the most asked about moments in Marlins history. That’s right, tomorrow we talk about Steve Bartman (spoiler).