Miami Marlins Best To Wear Jersey Number Series No. 18: Moises Alou

This one is likely to surprise more than a few Miami Marlins fans out there.

Well, it's a surprise if you haven't been closely following Marlin Maniac's Best To Wear The Miami Marlins Jersey Number Series to this point at any rate. Last time out, we did mention that a certain famous Marlins player would not be featured in the series as a result of not claiming the top spot at No. 19, and this was the other possible landing spot. Consequently, there is a clear answer here at No. 18:

Moises Alou, the 1997 Marlins postseason hero who is perhaps most famous for his proximity to one of the most memorable moments of the team's 2003 title run.

Despite only spending that one, magical 1997 season in a Marlins uniform, no one else came particularly close here. Alou led that team in HRs (23) and RBIs (115) during the regular season, then proceeded to do so again in the playoffs (3 HR, 15 RBI). That was good enough for a 3.5 WAR season that would have led all position players on the '97 club had it not been for the Golden Glove of Charles Johnson. Both of those postseason records fell in 2003, but it did take two different players to do so, making Alou's October of 1997 shine all the more.

Of course, when most baseball fans think of Alou and the Marlins at playoff time, it's for a memory where Alou was fitted out in Cubby Blue as opposed to Marlins Teal. For it was Alou that was patrolling left field that fateful night at Wrigley Field during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS when an overexuberant fan named Steve Bartman reached out to realize every fan's dream...and inadvertently kept Alou from recording a crucial second out. The rest of that story, as they say, is history. For our purposes here though, it does seem to important to note that he was wearing No. 18 at the time.

As for the also rans in this Marlins category? Obviously, Jeff Conine would win the technical answer prize if his whole Marlins career counted. Yet his best years WAR-wise came wearing No. 19, with only 2.6 WAR being earned across his entire second act with the Fish. A relatively close second is Kevin Millar, who spent two years in the No. 18 jersey before switching numbers and taking off considerably at the plate- more on that next week.

All of which goes to show the strengths and weaknesses of WAR as a measure of a player's value. Both the 2003-2005 version of Conine and even the 1999 version of Millar really seem like cases where they contributed far more to those Marlins squads than those numbers would indicate. A lesser example would be Wes Helms, one of the great utility, role players in club history that spent five seasons in Miami- all wearing No. 18, and all for the shockingly poor total of -0.2 WAR. Yet that showing constitutes one of the best resumes for the Marlins with this jersey number.

Two last honorable mention before wrapping up. Matt Mantei started here before switching to No. 33 and becoming an effective enough relief pitcher to be able to be flipped to the Diamondbacks for Brad Penny. Lastly, as hard as it might be to remember after his train wreck of a 2023 season, Joey Wendle was what can be best be described as "kinda decent" in 2022. He finished with a 2.0 WAR in his Marlins career.

At any rate, Alou wins the day here, and easily ranks as one of the greatest free agent signings in Marlins history. When it comes to one-year wonders for the Fish, he's alone at the top with someone else who was actually indirectly referenced in this article.

Also, a quick aside, apologies for the delay in posting this. Between kid snow days and kid sick days, productivity has been a little slow at the home office. Expect a double tap of articles in this series in the next week to get us back on track. Catch you next time at No. 17...and what will easily be the most bereft of talent chapter of the series.