Miami Marlins and their Public Relations Firm

Nov 19, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins owner Jeffery Loria listens during a press conference at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro associated the Miami Marlins’ franchise turnaround to the November of 2012 fire sale trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. While the trade does look good now, there are plenty of holes in Frisaro’s argument that the front office deserves praise for that trade now.

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In my estimation, the begin of the turnaround for this Marlins franchise came on January 30, 2013. On that day, we learned that owner Jeffery Loria and the Marlins had switched Public Relation Firms to fix their destructed reputation.

"The Miami Marlins, less than a year removed from opening a new stadium to much fanfare, are once again the least adored sports franchise in South Florida. After a debacle of a 2012 season followed by a fire sale of its best players, the Marlins need all the help they can get if they ever want to win back the team’s fan base. Local public relations firm The Jeffrey Group will get the chance to help. The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that the team has hired the firm, replacing RBB. RBB’s founding partner Bruce Rubin is a longtime friend of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, according to the Herald."

Things had gotten so bad for Marlins ownership after the fire sale trade that the Marlins fan base had written a petition to President Barack Obama to force Loria to sell the Marlins.

Thanks to The Jeffery Group, the Marlins have done a complete 360 in terms on perception of the franchise. They became the big talk of the off-season, convincing Giancarlo Stanton to sign with the team long-term and being one of the teams at the center of attention at the Winter Meetings back in the beginning of December in San Diego.

So how did The Jeffery Group pull off this miraculous feat of turning around the Marlins image, which man around the league did not see as possible at the time? Propaganda is a strong word to use for a baseball franchise, but that is the word we’ll go with for the Marlins in this situation.

Here is how The Jeffery Group helped respin the Marlins image.

Next: Rewriting the history on 2012