Does Stanton's Derby Mean Marlins All-Star Woes Over?

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Color that man IMPRESSED.Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Will Mid-Summer Classic Misery Continues For Miami Marlins?

Last season at this time, I wrote a piece about the Marlins past history in the All-Star Game. It seemed appropriate considering that, given the events of last season, fans of the Fish had no reason to watch beyond a general love of baseball. A love we should by no means dismiss, but zero representation is a tough pill to swallow. So I took a look back at all the past performances from Marlins All-Stars, and came to a sobering realization. More on that in a minute.

This time around though, the feeling is different. For just the third time in franchise history, four Marlins will be representing South Florida. The Marlins participating are not lone bright spots for a club that has already committed to selling off parts, possibly said All-Stars themselves, at the Trade Deadline either. This group- Jose Fernandez, Marcell Ozuna, A.J. Ramos, and Fernando Rodney- are members of a winning team that just reeled off the second best first half in team history and are in the thick of a playoff chase.

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Better still, there’s multiple Marlins who didn’t make the team that could have. Martin Prado, J.T. Realmuto, and Christian Yelich are all enjoying stellar seasons. Ichiro wants 3000 hits.

And then there’s the guy who until a week ago was having a terrible season….and will be all anyone talks about for most of the game.

That’d be 2016 Home Run Derby Champion Giancarlo Stanton.

Maybe he’s just the kick start the Marlins have needed…since Jeff Conine. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Stanton’s win last night is a huge boost going into tonight’s spectacle, for in case you’ve missed it over the years, the Marlins have ranged from pedestrian to terrible in terms of All-Star Game performance for a really long time now. That conclusion I came to last season was that- despite not playing- the Marlins might actually come out ahead. Not present to underperform or make a mistake, all they could do was talk about what they did to get there in the first place. It’s been that rough of a stretch.

But I choose to believe Big G has turned us around Fish Nation. Positive vibes, send em out to Petco Park. And rest comfortable that there’s a very low bar for tonight’s foursome to clear on their way to laying claim to the best Marlins showing this century. What follows is that same look back. Enjoy the Marlins All-Star Games through the ages.

Next: 2006-2016 Marlins' All-Stars

Jul 9, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (16) delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the third inning at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

2011-2015 Marlins’ All-Stars:

2015: Not on the roster
2014: Stanton 0 for 3, Henderson Alvarez DNP
2013: Jose Fernandez 1 IP, no runs, 2 Ks
2012: Not on the roster
2011: Gaby Sanchez 0 for 1

Not a really impressive run of late. An effective inning of relief, that’s it. But any team can have a dry spell. Let’s look a little deeper into team lore.

2010: Hanley Ramirez 0 for 3, Josh Johnson 2 scoreless IP
2009: Hanley 0 for 3, Johnson DNP
2008: Hanley 2 for 3, Dan Uggla 0 for 4, 4 errors between them
2007: Miguel Cabrera 0 for 1
2006: Cabrera Pinch Ran, Uggla DNP

Starting to seem like the All-Star Game isn’t really our thing.

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Four guys on the roster in ’05, four again in ’04, if you count Trader Jack.

Winning records for three consecutive seasons, with a title to boot. But we’ve also just gone fourteen years without a Marlin knocking in a run, and Lowell and Castillo stand out at the top and bottom of this list for at least crossing the plate.

With three hits and three appearances, Lowell is easily the stand out in this four-year run, and arguably of the whole of 2002 -2010. Amazing considering that includes four “Cabrera as a Marlin” showings, which even more amazingly never included a start from the future Hall of Famer.

Now I’d love to tell you it’s about to get better, but…

Next: Inception to 2001

Nov 2, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster walks along Boylston Street during the World Series parade and celebration. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

2001: Cliff Floyd 0 for 2
2000: Ryan Dempster DNP
1999: Alex Gonzalez 0 for 2
1998: Edgar Renteria 0 for 1

Four years, nearly zero stats, though Renteria did manage to score.

But that small victory was dramatically outshone by the fact that in the first post fire-sale All-Star Game, the 1998 NL roster featured five 1997 World Champions that didn’t currently play for Florida.

1997: Moises Alou gets a hit, Kevin Brown scoreless inning, three Marlins in the game, and we win our first title.
1996: Kevin Brown and Al Leiter combine for no runs in effective relief.
1995: The Jeff Conine Game. All-Star MVP on a winning HR.
1994: Conine DNP
1993: Gary Sheffield 2 for 3, HR, 2 RBI, Bryan Harvey scoreless inning. Plus everything is awesome, we have a baseball team.

Which one of these, doesn’t belong, right? A glorious first foray into All-Star play.

The NL actually won three of these five games. Conine wins the MVP award, while Sheffield turns in the best performance in Marlins All-Star history in their first year.