The Florida Marlins began their existence with the 1993 baseball betting odds season, coming in with the Colorado Rockies to join the National League.
The Marlins drew over three million baseball bet fans to Joe Robbie Stadium (the football home of the Miami Dolphins). The Marlins fielded non-competitive teams until 1996 baseball betting odds season when they reached the 80-win mark after signing pitchers Kevin Brown and Al Leiter.
Encouraged by the team’s improved performance, owner Wayne Huizenga opened his checkbook in the offseason leading up to 1997 baseball betting odds season and signed Moises Alou, Bobby Bonillia, and Alex Fernandez while bringing in a proven manager, Jim Leyland, to skipper the talented team.
After the novelty of having a major league team wore off following their inaugural baseball betting odds campaign, there was a dramatic drop in attendance at Marlin games that continued in the early stages of the 1997 baseball betting odds season, despite the team being touted as a contender and getting off to a good start. Huizenga was disappointed in this development and started making noises about needed a new stadium in order to stay in baseball bet business and compete. The city of Miami would not blink, however, and refused to give the owner his new ballpark despite his warnings that he would hold a fire sale of talent at the baseball betting odds season’s end. Despite the uncertainty and distractions, Florida qualified for the wild card spot in the NL baseball betting odds playoffs.
In the baseball betting odds playoffs the Marlins dusted off San Francisco in the NLDS followed by the veteran powerhouse Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, thus qualifying as the first ever wild card team to make the World Series. Their opponents would be Cleveland. The Marlins and Tribe would play a 7th baseball bet game at Miami, with the Marlins forcing a tie and extra innings in the bottom of the 9th before clinching the title in the 11th to become the fastest expansion team to win all the marbles. Huizenga kept his promise, however, and held his fire sale after the win, thus nuking the good will built up with the baseball bet fans.
Florida faced contraction rumors in 2002 baseball betting odds season, but managed to limp into the 2003 baseball betting odds season under the radar. Manager Jeff Torborg was fired after a 16-22 start and replaced by jack McKeon, who led an incredible turnaround that ended up with a World Series baseball betting odds title over the Yankees. History has repeated itself, however, as once again Florida had to conduct a fire sale after the 2005 baseball betting odds season because of financial problems, thus destroying what little credibility this franchise and market had left. The Marlins were no closer to a new ballpark than they were when Huizenga did the same thing year’s prior.