Five Best Florida / Miami Marlins Moments of All-Time

The 2003 World Series

Josh Beckett was one piece of a pretty good Marlins rotation that also featured Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Mark Redman, and Dontrelle Willis. The group was good enough to get the Marlins to their second World Series just six seasons after their first, starting 143 of Florida’s 162 regular season games.

Although Beckett’s 1.324 WHIP was the highest from amongst the regular rotation starters, his 9.6 K/9 rate was also the highest. His 3.04 ERA and 2.94 FIP were the best marks of the bunch as well.

Nobody expected much of the Marlins in this postseason. A wildcard team at 91-71, they’d have to get through the 100-win San Francisco Giants in the first round, and likely the 101-win Atlanta Braves as well.

Surprisingly, the Chicago Cubs took the Braves in five, while the Marlins made quicker work of the Giants, taking their best-of-five in four games. A week later, down three-games-to-two in Chicago, the Marlins mounted an unlikely eighth-inning comeback. Down 3-0 with only six outs to oblivion, the Marlins batted around and scored eight runs to carry the day, aided just a touch by then-soon-to-be Chicago pariah Steve Bartman.

The Marlins needed to face yet another 100-win team in the World Series – the dreaded New York Yankees. After falling behind two-games-to-one after three, the Marlins had won games four and five to put the Yankees on the brink of defeat.

Beckett, who had lost game three, orchestrated a shutout, holding the Yankees to five hits and a pair of walks. He also struck out nine. Luis Castillo and Juan Encarnacion provided all the offense the Marlins would need, and Florida came out with a 2-0 victory.