Miami Marlins legend Livan Hernandez really was one of a kind

When fans think of Miami Marlins legend Livan Hernandez, there can be no doubt of what comes to mind first:

"I love you, Miami!"

He's forever tied to that magical Marlins championship run in 1997, where he earned World Series MVP honors. Yet he spent far more of his career loving to face Miami rather than loving to play for them. In fact, if you go just by innings pitched, he spent more time in both a Washington and a San Francisco uniform than he did sporting teal for the Marlins.

But thirteen years ago today, Hernandez made the last of his staggering 39 appearances against his former club. That last appearance? A rather inconsequential inning of scoreless relief in mop up duty for the Brewers in a 6-2 Marlins victory. However, the anniversary of it does provide an excuse to gush about a fascinating career. In those 39 outings, he went 14-13 with a 3.69 ERA, including six complete games and three shutouts.

Those six complete games would be enough to tie him for 10th place on the Marlins all-time list...a list Hernandez himself is tied for fourth on with fellow 1997 champion Kevin Brown. Of course, when it comes to the Marlins single season record for going the distance, Hernandez stands alone at the top with nine. His otherworldly endurance was far and away the bright spot of that 1998 team.

Still...39 appearances against the Marlins, and 35 of those were starts. That's a season's worth of work, and a good season at that. Time and again he would be a thorn in the side of the team that traded him, and would often save his best for when he dueled with Miami's current ace. While I certainly remembered that happening a lot, it wasn't until doing the research for yesterday's article on how many times former Marlins Opening Day starters faced off that I realized just how many times Hernandez was involved in that situation.

If you include his own appearances with the Marlins against Kevin Brown (3), Hernandez faced seven different former Marlins Opening Day starters in his career: Alex Fernandez (1), Ryan Dempster (1), Josh Beckett (4), Dontrelle Willis (1), Ricky Nolasco (4), and Josh Johnson (5). Two of those faceoffs were actual Opening Day games, including what for my money was the best Opening Day in franchise history. Ten of those games were quality starts, and five of those were 8 IP or more.

All of this is just to say that they just don't make pitchers this way anymore. They certainly don't treat them this way anymore. The only exception to this might be current Marlins iron man Sandy Alcantara, but this side of Tommy John surgery, his days of being allowed to finish an entire game are probably numbered. That aforementioned Marlins single-season record of 9 complete games that Hernandez holds? You could argue it's the most untouchable Marlins record you'll come across.

Hernandez was a ton of fun to watch, and really just remarkable for the stamina he demonstrated both on game day and across his career. Which is something that there is never a bad time to celebrate, but seemed particularly appropriate given the anniversary and this most recent matchup of Marlins Opening Day starters.

Bottom-line? Livan loves Miami, and Marlins fans still love Livan.