Miami Marlins History: All-Time Top 10 OPS

In Miami Marlins history, 560 players have gotten into a game for at least one plate appearance, either pitching or hitting. 111 of them have had at least 300 plate appearances, which we’re setting as our cutoff for today’s rankings.

On this player list, there are Miami Marlins who started with the team in 1993, one guy who is still with the team, and at least one player from every season in between. I counted pitchers in the calculations, but there were only a few with over 300 plate appearances. Namely, A.J. Burnett, Josh Johnson, Dontrelle Willis, & Ricky Nolasco. The most accomplished of the bunch was easily Dontrelle Willis, but he ranks 93rd on our list, with a mark of .639. Just behind Matt Treanor and just ahead of Rick Renteria. Remarkably, the cutoff OPS for this article just so happened to fall at .800, generally considered the mark for an excellent player. I used baseball-reference.com to research all the statistics cited in this article.

We will be publishing articles such as this weekly from this time forward, with a different metric measured and ranked each time. Let us know what you think in the comments. Is there something you want to see? Click here for the Marlins all-time OPS ranked 11-20. Click the button with Pudge’s name on it for 10 through 1.

9) Moises Alou (.866)

Moises Alou was a 6’3″, 185 lb. outfielder from Atlanta, GA, and baseball royalty. He’s Felipe Alou‘s son, and Matty and Jesus Alou‘s nephew. He’s also an all star in his own right, with six selections to the mid-summer classic through his 17 season MLB career. In 1986, the Pittsburgh Pirates chose him in the first round of the draft.

Alou made his major league debut in 1990 with the Bucs, and went 1-for-5 in two games with the parent club. He joined the Montreal Expos as a Player to be Named Later to complete an earlier trade on August 16th of that year. The Expos gave Zane Smith to the Pirates in return for Alou, Willie Greene, and Scott Ruskin.

Alou played six season in Montreal, making the 1994 all-star roster, and earning the 1994 NL left field Silver Slugger. He also finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year poll after the 1992 season, and finished third in the NL MVP vote in 1994. Alou joined the Florida Marlins through free agency after the 1996 campaign.

In Alou’s only Marlins’ season, he led the club with 23 home runs and 115 RBI. He slashed .292/.373/.493 for the team. He earned his second all-star nod and finished 10th in the NL MVP vote. In the postseason, he went 13-for-57, with four doubles, three home runs, and 15 RBI to help the Fish win the World Championship for the first time. After the season the Marlins sent Alou to the Houston Astros for Manuel Barrios, Oscar Henriquez, and PTBNL Mark Johnson.

Alou spent three seasons with the Astros, later joining the Chicago Cubs for three seasons, the San Francisco Giants for two years, and the New York Mets for two more. His time with Chicago proved he wasn’t done impacting the Marlins.

8) Kevin Millar (.871)

Kevin Millar is now more famous for his various roles on the MLB network. For a time, he was a pretty good baseball player.

Millar is a Los Angeles native, and cut his teeth in the independent Northern League after going undrafted. In 1993, he slashed .260/.338/.383, good enough to catch the Florida Marlins interest. They sent him to the Kane County Cougars the following season, and watched him progress through the minor leagues, hitting near- or better-than-.300 at each stop.

In 1998, Millar made his first major league appearance, getting a walk and a hit out of his first three plate appearances. In the next season, his official rookie campaign, he slashed .285/.362/.433 over 105 appearances, with nine homers and 67 RBI.

Millar, mostly a first baseman by trade, also played third base and both corner outfield positions. In 2000, he slashed .259/.364/.498 in 123 games, with 14 round-trippers and 42 RBI.

In Millar’s 12 major league seasons, he never made the all-star team, never won a Gold Glove or a Silver Slugger, and never received a single MVP vote. That’s not to say he wasn’t a good player. He put up near-all-star levels of production in 2001, slashing .314/.374/.557 with 20 home runs and 85 RBI in 144 contests. Unfortunately, he wasn’t always the best baserunner….

In 2002, Millar continued his solid level of production in 126 games for Florida, slashing .306/.366/.509 with 16 homers and 57 RBI. Just before spring training in 2003, the Boston Red Sox purchased Millar’s contract.

Millar spent seven seasons in the American League. Three years with Boston, three with the Baltimore Orioles, and his final year with the Toronto Blue Jays.

As a postscript to his independent league roots, Millar returned to the St. Paul Saints in 2017 as a 46-year-old man, and in his first at bat crushed a round tripper.

7) Hanley Ramirez (.873)

Hanley Ramirez signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox back in 2000 out of the Dominican Republic. Eventually, he made his major league debut with them in 2005, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts.

The Florida Marlins liked something about Ramirez’ game, apparently. On November 24th, 2005, they traded Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota to Boston for Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia, and Ramirez.

The Marlins wouldn’t have to wait long for their faith to be rewarded. In 2006, Ramirez won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, beating out Ryan Zimmerman by a small margin. Ramirez appeared in an NL-10th 158 games for Florida, and slashed .292/.353/.480 with 17 home runs, 59 RBI, an NL fifth 119 runs scored, and an NL-third-best 51 stolen bases. He was also seventh in the Senior Circuit with a 5.2 oWAR and with 46 doubles and sixth with 11 triples.

In 2007, Ramirez, also known as “Han-Ram,” and “El Nino,” continued his solid play at shortstop while beefing up his power numbers. He slashed .332/.386/.562 with 29 home runs and 81 RBI. He won the NL Player of the Week honors in July for the first time, after going 11-for-24 with four doubles, three home runs, three stolen bases, and five RBI from July 1st through July 7th. He was third in the NL with a 7.2 oWAR, fifth with his .332 batting average, ninth with his .562 SLG, second with 125 runs scored and with 212 hits, third with 359 total bases, 51 stolen bases, and with 48 doubles, and first with a 37.0 Power/Speed#.

Ramirez continued to produce solidly in 2008, with a .301/.400/.540 slashline, a career-high 33 homers, 67 RBI, 35 stolen bases, and a league leading 125 runs scored. He was named to the all-star team for the first time, also winning his first Silver Slugger Award.

In 2009, Ramirez won the NL batting crown with a slashline of .342/.410/.543. He also jacked 24 round-trippers for 106 RBI. For his efforts, he won his second Silver Slugger and again made the all-star squad. He also finished second in the NL MVP vote, behind Albert Pujols fantastic season.

In 2010 Ramirez again made the all-star team. He slashed .300/.378/.475 in 142 games, with 21 homers and 76 RBI. He was limited to 92 games in 2011, and his slashline suffered to the tune of .243/.333/.379.

After starting the 2012 season slashing .246/.322/.428 for the now-Miami Marlins, Miami traded Ramirez with Randy Choate to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Nathan Eovaldi and Scott McGough. He played two-and-a-half seasons for the Dodgers before settling with the Red Sox for the last four years. Boston released Ramirez on May 30th, 2018.

Ramirez ranks second on Miami’s all-time leaderboard with 1,103 hits and 230 stolen bases, third with 148 home runs, fifth with 482 RBI, and fourth amongst qualifiers with a .300 batting average.

6) Hee-Seop Choi (.882)

Hee-Seop Choi was a 6’5″, 235 native of Hwasun, South Korea. Prior to the 1999 season he signed with the Chicago Cubs through free agency.

Choi eventually made his major league debut with the Cubs, and remained with the club for two seasons, slashing .210/.337/.401. After the 2003 season, the Cubs traded Choi with Mike Nannini to the Marlins for Derrek Lee.

Choi joined the Marlins and was immediately put in as their starting first baseman. In just 95 games for Florida, Choi slashed .270/.388/.495, smacked 15 home runs, and collected 40 RBI. On April 10th, Choi hit two solo home runs in Florida’s 5-3 defeat of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Marlins traded Choi away at the deadline with Bill Murphy and Brad Penny to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Juan Encarnacion, Paul Lo Duca, and Guillermo Mota.

Choi played the rest of 2004 and all of 2005 with Los Angeles. After that, he spent eight seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization with the Kia Tigers.

5) Cliff Floyd (.898)

Cliff Floyd was a 6’5″, 220 lb. left fielder from Chicago. In 1991, the Montreal Expos made him their first round selection, with the 14th pick off the board.

Floyd made it to the parent club in 1993, and played four seasons with them. In 256 games, he hit 12 home runs and stole 20 bases, with a .250/.319/.381 slashline. Obviously, that would improve. The Expos traded him to the Florida Marlins for Dustin Hermanson and Joe Orsulak just prior to 1997 opening day.

In a somewhat limited role due to a mid-season injury, Floyd slashed just .234/.354/.445 in 1997 for the eventual World Series Champions. He hit six home runs and collected 19 RBI. In the postseason, he was 0-for-2 with a walk and a run in the Fall Classic, as the Marlins set down the Cleveland Indians in seven.

Floyd played in a career high 153 games in 1998 for the Florida Marlins. His slashline was also much improved. He put up a mark of .282/.337/.481 with 22 jacks and 90 RBI. He also stole a career-high and NL-sixth 27 bases as the Marlins everyday left fielder. He also ranked fifth in the NL with 45 doubles.

In 1999, Floyd was again bit by the injury bug, and was limited to 69 games. He slashed .303/.379/.518 with 11 homer and 49 RBI. 2000 was better, with similar slash numbers. In 121 contests, he slashed .300/.379/.529, with another 22 homers, 24 stolen bases and 91 RBI. Floyd was named the NL Player of the Week in the final week of the season, going 10-for-18 with four doubles two home runs, and 11 RBI in five games.

2001 was inarguably Floyd’s best season as a Florida Marlin. In 149 games, he slashed .317/.390/.578, for a .968 OPS. He went deep 31 times and collected a career-high 103 RBI, also stealing 18 bases. Floyd made his only all-star appearance from his efforts of that season. He was sixth in the NL with 123 runs scored and 10th with a 6.6 WAR.

In 82 games to start out the 2002 season, Floyd slashed .287/.414/.537, with 18 home runs and 57 RBI. A few weeks before the trading deadline, the Marlins traded him back to the Expos. According to baseball-reference.com:

July 11, 2002: Traded by the Florida Marlins with Wilton Guerrero, Claudio Vargas and cash to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later, Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai, Carl Pavano and Justin Wayne. The Montreal Expos sent Don Levinski (minors) (August 5, 2002) to the Florida Marlins to complete the trade.

Floyd played in 15 games for the Expos before getting flipped to the Boston Red Sox in another trade. He then played four seasons with the New York Mets before spending a season each with the Chicago Cubs, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the San Diego Padres.

4) Giancarlo Stanton (.914)

What hasn’t already been said about Giancarlo Stanton? Stanton is a 6’6″, 245 lb. right fielder from Panorama City, CA. He was a second round pick of the Florida Marlins back in 2007, and made his major league debut as a 20-year-old in 2010.

Stanton’s 267 homers in a Marlins uniform is 113 more than second on Miami’s all-time list, (Dan Uggla). He also leads the leaderboard with 672 RBI. He’s third on the list with 986 games played, 202 doubles, and with 576 runs, fifth with 960 hits, and even 19th with 36 stolen bases. His slugging percentage of .554 ranked second amongst qualifiers for this article. His 1,140 strikeouts also easily lead the Marlins all-time list.

Stanton slashed .259/.326/.507 as a rookie, hitting 22 homers in 100 games in 2010. He also totaled 59 RBI.

In 2011, Stanton slashed .262/.356/.537 with 34 home runs and 87 RBI. The following season, he was held to 123 games due to an unfortunate injury, but led the NL with a .608 slugging percentage. He slashed .290/.361/.608 overall, and connected on 37 homers for 86 RBI. He was also selected to the all-star team for the first time.

In 2013, Stanton played in 116 games for the Marlins and slashed .249/.365/.480 with 24 homers and 62 RBI. He also whiffed 140 times, not a great look.

2014 would see Stanton return to form and lead the NL with 37 home runs and a .555 slugging percentage. He also collected 105 RBI and stole 13 baes, hitting .288/.395/.555. He made his second all-star appearance and finished second in the NL MVP voting. Some guy named Clayton Kershaw won it.

In 2015 and 2016, Stanton again missed a large portion of each season with various injuries. Over 193 games, he hit 54 homers and 141 RBI while slashing .250/.334/.536.

Of course in hindsight, we know that 2017 was Stanton’s last Miami Marlins season. But it was a good one. In 159 games he slashed .281/.376/.631 in 159 games, leading the NL with his slugging percentage and with 59 homers and 132 RBI. He was named to his fourth all-star team, earned his second Silver Slugger, and was named the NL MVP.

After the season, the Marlins traded Stanton to the New York Yankees for Jose Devers, Jorge Guzman, and Starlin Castro. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

3) Miguel Cabrera (.929)

Miguel Cabrera signed with the Florida Marlins as an International free agent out of Venezuela back in 1999. Then just 17-years-old, the third baseman spent the first five seasons of his remarkable career with our team.

A dead-lock first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, we always knew Cabrera was pretty good. In his rookie season of 2003, he finished fifth in the NL ROY vote, also collecting a handful of MVP votes in the process despite his tender years. He slashed .268/.325/.468 with a dozen home runs and 62 RBI. That was by-far his least valuable season with the Marlins. IN Miami’s postseason run to their second World Series Championship, Cabrera hit 18-for-68 with two doubles, four homers , and 12 RBI.

In 2004, Cabrera was chosen to the NL all-star team for the first of four consecutive seasons. He slashed. 294/.366/.512 with 33 homers and 112 RBI. It was more of the same in 2005, with a .323/.385/.561 slashline, 33 homers, and 116 RBI. He also won his first Silver Slugger.

In 2006, Cabrera put up a .998 OPS for his 158 game performance. He slashed .339/.430/.568 with 26 home runs and 114 RBI. He also drew 86 walks. That rate was nearly 25 percent better than his previous best. He won his second Silver Slugger Award and finished fifth in the MVP vote.

2007 would see Cabrera slash .320/.401/.565 in 157 games, with 34 home runs and 119 RBI. After the season, the Marlins traded him with Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers for Dallas Trahern, Burke Badenhop, Frankie De La Cruz, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, and Mike Rabelo.

Cabrera was crowned as the NL Player of the Week four times with the Florida Marlins, and has gone on to win the AL Player of the Week Award with the Tigers 11 more times. He has also won four batting titles, two home run crowns, five more Silver Slugger Awards, been selected to seven more all-star rosters, and won the AL MVP in 2012 and in 2013. He also won the Triple Crown in 2012.

2) Gary Sheffield (.970)

Gary Sheffield was a 5’11”. 190 lb. powder keg of offensive dynamite out of Tampa, FL. The Milwaukee Brewers picked him in the first round of the 1986 draft, sixth overall.

Sheffield got promoted to the big show in 1988, even though he was still a teenager. He played four seasons with the Brewers, then spent another year-and-a-half with the San Diego Padres.

Sheffield was not one a member of the Marlins organization when they played their first ever game on April 5th, 1993. Nearly three months after that though, the Padres traded him with Rich Rodriguez to the Marlins for Andrew Berumen, Trevor Hoffman, and Jose Martinez.

Sheffield ended up with the Marlins as their third baseman for parts of six seasons. He slashed .288/.426/.543 in 558 career games, with 122 home runs and 380 RBI. He also stole 74 bases while with the team, and led the NL with a 1.090 OPS in 1996. That’s the season that he earned his second Silver Slugger and his third all-star selection.

In mid-1998, the Marlins traded Sheffield along with Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, and Charles Johnson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. Sheffield spent four seasons with the Dodgers, then two with the Atlanta Braves, three with the New York Yankees, two with the Detroit Tigers, and one with the New York Mets.

Over his 22 season major league career, Sheffield was chosen to nine all-star teams, earned five Silver Sluggers, and finished second in the AL MVP vote in 2004.

1) Carlos Delgado (.981)

Carlos Delgado hit 336 home runs over a 12-season career with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was a two-time all-star and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner for them from 1993 through 2004. From 2006 through 2009, he hit another 104 home runs for the New York Mets. For one season there in the middle, though, he played for us.

Delgado was a 6’3″, 215 lb. first baseman from Puerto Rico. Prior to the 2005 season, he decided to test the free agency market. The Marlins somehow got him for four seasons and $52 million

AAAnyway, in Delgado’s one season in the sun, he connected on 33 home runs and 115 RBI, while slashing .301/.399/.582. He struck out 121 times in 616 plate appearances, but also drew a respectable 72 walks and was hit with 17 pitches.

After the season, I can’t tell you why, but the Marlins traded him WITH CASH to the New York Mets for Grant Psomas, Yusmeiro Petit, and Mike Jacobs.

That was fun for me. Did you guys like reading it? Please, let me know in the comments. After all, this is not a newspaper that you can’t talk back to, it’s a blog, and I welcome your discussion, whether you have something positive or something negative to say.

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