1997 pro player stadium11/30/2022 ![]() 333 batting average, slowed him down on the basepaths with just 27 steals in 47 attempts. Omnipotent center fielder Kenny Lofton, acquired in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland, looked to be the piece that would make the Braves invincible-though a groin injury, while not affecting a. Chipper Jones (.295 average, 21 home runs, 111 runs batted in) continued to develop into a big-time star at third base. The team’s Hall-of-Fame pitching triumvirate of Greg Maddux (19-4, 2.20 ERA), Tom Glavine (14-7, 2.96) and John Smoltz (15-12, 3.02) was made into a quartet by ex-Pirate Danny Neagle, who led the NL with 20 wins against just five losses. The Braves had many assets Huizenga did not. The Braves prevailed once again, finishing a healthy nine games ahead of Florida. Huizenga’s millions might have bought eight wins in 12 regular season contests against the Braves, but not the NL East title. (Sheffield’s season-ending totals of 21 homers and 71 RBIs would be almost half of what he produced in 1996.) Fernandez led the team with 17 wins, but it was the lanky, surly Kevin Brown-with a 16-8 record-who scared opponents the most, leading the team with a 2.69 earned run average while throwing the majors’ only no-hitter of the year at San Francisco. ![]() The addition of Alou and Bonilla paid critical dividends to an offense that otherwise sagged-especially from Sheffield, mired in a crippling slump before a partial revival late in the year. The Marlins followed up a 26-5 spring training mark by posting their best regular season record yet of their young existence at 92-70. Huizenga even spent big bucks to bring in a first-class manager in Jim Leyland, who was going from famine to feast after 11 years of dealing with tightwad budgets at Pittsburgh.īefore his shopping spree was over, Huizenga had committed a whopping $89 million on his new and re-signed players, which translated to a 1997 payroll topping out at $53 million. He anted up for All-Star slugger Gary Sheffield-coming off a monster season for the Marlins in 1996-making him one of baseball’s first $10 million-a-year ballplayers. #1997 pro player stadium freeHe brought in six new free agents, including star sluggers Bobby Bonilla and Moises Alou, and a solid starting pitcher in Alex Fernandez. Knowing that finding success on the field meant competing with the powerful Atlanta Braves in the National League’s Eastern Division, Huizenga went for broke in 1997. Through their first four years, the Marlins had failed to register a winning season while attendance shrunk to half of its inaugural year count-even after Huizenga widened payroll in 1996 with star free agent pitchers Kevin Brown and Al Leiter. Huizenga’s patience, however, was a bit tested when it came to the Marlins, an expansion team he bought so he could book an additional 81 events a year at Pro Player Stadium-which he also owned. ![]() ![]() Applying his magic touch for quick success had worked well with the two teams he bought: The Miami Dolphins, an established NFL franchise with a winning tradition, and hockey’s Florida Panthers, who reached the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals in just their third year-and on its enthusiastic coattails were blessed with a new, publicly funded arena Huizenga badly wanted. #1997 pro player stadium movieWayne Huizenga had conquered the world of garbage (Waste Management), movie rentals (Blockbuster Video) and had all but become king of South Florida pro sports. In that relative split second, Huizenga was both a hero and villain in Miami, and to the greater baseball populace represented all that was wrong with the game in the 1990s.Ī determined 59-year old with not much hair but loads of business savvy and a commanding presence, H. Wayne Huizenga proved with the 1997 Marlins that you could both build and tear apart a winner within an eye blink of baseball history. The other 11 were ex-Marlins-traded, released or lost to free agency.Ĭonnie Mack had twice proven long ago that you could build a championship team over time and tear it down overnight. ![]() Four months after winning the 1997 World Series, the Florida Marlins were honored by President Bill Clinton at the White House. ![]()
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