The top 5 starting pitcher seasons in Miami Marlins history

#3. Kevin Brown in 1997

I never get tired of talking about the 1997 World Championship Miami Marlins (then known as the Florida Marlins) team. It was a great team packed with superstars, and one of them happened to have produced the third best starting pitching performance in Miami Marlins history. Can you guess the starting pitcher yet? I’m talking about none other than Kevin Brown.

Kevin Brown was the Miami Marlins (again then “Florida Marlins” but let’s keep it simple) ace, and he certainly pitched like one during the World Championship 1997 season. Kevin Brown produced a 16-8 record, a 2.69 ERA/2.94 FIP, 7.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 33 games and 237.1 innings. This was worth 7.0 WAR.

Unlike the previous two performances, the Miami Marlins didn’t “waste” his performance as we went all the way to the World Series…and won. How did Kevin Brown do in the playoffs?

The Miami Marlins defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-0 in the NLDS. Kevin Brown went 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA in one 7 inning game. The Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 in the NLCS, Brown went 2-0 with a 4.20 ERA in two games and 15 innings. The Miami Marlins then defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-3 in the World Series, and Brown went 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in two games and 11 innings.

Kevin Brown wasn’t as effective in the World Series as he was in the previous two playoff rounds, despite this he was able to call himself a World Champion when the World Series ended. The Miami Marlins parted ways with the ace after the season as part of the team’s notorious fire sale.

Kevin Brown only pitched in two seasons for the Miami Marlins, but he made both count. The latter is of course number three on this list and led to a World Championship for The Fish.