Miami Marlins: the young team that could

The Miami Marlins joined the major leagues as an expansion team in 1993 and hold a special place in baseball history, having won two baseball championships despite never winning their division, and are a source of pride for fans as the only MLB team in the state of Florida. Miami Marlins tickets are ready now to buy or to sell via StubHub.

Turning wild cards into improbable world championships

Entering major league baseball in 1993 as the Florida Marlins, it took just four short years for the organisation to assemble a team of contenders to play home games at Joe Robbie Field, since the team didn't have its own stadium. The Marlins enjoyed their first winning season in 1997, a year of milestones for the club, including its first post season appearance as a wild card team. After defeating the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves for the National League pennant, the Marlins faced the heavily favoured Cleveland Indians of the American League in their first championship series that came down to the seventh and final game, which the Marlins won in extra innings to become the first wild card team ever to win the World Series and the youngest franchise ever to win the title. Six years later, history repeated itself as the 2003 wildcard Marlins conquered the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs and vanquished the New York Yankees in six games for their second championship. Miami Marlins tickets are available now for purchase or sale via StubHub.

Miami Marlins turn convention on its head

The Marlins franchise is an anomaly in the annals of baseball, not so much for what it has accomplished but also for what it has not. It is rare for a team to win two baseball titles without capturing divisional honours and with only six winning seasons behind it. Another curious footnote to the World Series titles is the deconstruction of the teams the year after reaching the pinnacle of baseball glory, a consequence of the economics of baseball in smaller television markets, where players with pricey contracts are sold after successful campaigns. The Florida Marlins morphed into the Miami Marlins complete with new uniforms and logo in 2011 and moved into their new home, Marlins Park, in 2012, and it is testimony to the financial vagaries of the market that the ballpark ranks as one of the smallest stadiums in MLB. That said, the team can still count Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Piazza and Andre Dawson as three former players who now reside in the Hall of Fame. Miami Marlins tickets are ready now to buy or sell via StubHub.