The Marlins are ready to make more All-Star memories — this time in Miami
The Marlins will be represented at the All-Star Game for the 25th time on Tuesday when the Midsummer Classic is played at Marlins Park in Little Havana.
Gary Sheffield and Bryan Harvey were part of the Marlins’ first All-Star Game at Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1993.
Last year, four Marlins (Marcell Ozuna, Jose Fernandez, Fernando Rodney and A.J. Ramos) were part of the All-Star Game in San Diego.
Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton will play for the National League team Tuesday with Justin Bour joining Stanton in Monday’s Home Run Derby.
The Miami Herald continues to look back at the top All-Stars who have represented the Marlins — from Sheffield to Ozuna — through Tuesday’s game.
Gary Sheffield was voted in as a starter to the All-Star Game in 1993, fueled in part, by being part of a blockbuster trade to the expansion Florida Marlins.
Sheffield, who won a batting title in San Diego the previous season, didn’t disappoint those who voted for him as he sent a Mark Langston pitch for a two-run home run in the first All-Star at-bat by a member of the Marlins.
On Tuesday, Marlins Park will play host to the Midsummer Classic for the first time as baseball’s best gather in Little Havana to take part in the 88th All-Star Game.
As was the case in 1993, the Marlins will be represented on the field by two players.
In 1993, Sheffield was voted in and started; in 2017, outfielder Marcell Ozuna was voted into the starting lineup.
Slugger Giancarlo Stanton — who will defend his Home Run Derby title in his home park on Monday — was selected for his fourth All-Star Game.
Sheffield’s introduction in his gray Marlins road uniform for the team’s first All-Star Game at Camden Yards in Baltimore almost 25 years ago was a source of great pride for the organization.
Although the Marlins have had plenty of ups and downs throughout their years, they have always had at least one representative at the All-Star Game and, as in the case of the Marlins’ relatively brief history, there were some good moments and some not-so-great ones.
Some of the greatest names in Marlins history have, of course, made it to the All-Star Game.
Jeff Conine, now known as “Mr. Marlin,” was the MVP of the 1995 All-Star Game after his pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning lifted the National League to a 3-2 win over the AL.
“Some of my buddies back home in Florida said, 'If you get in the game, you got to swing for the fences’,” said Conine, who was part of both of Florida’s World Series championship teams in 1997 and 2003 and now works on the team’s broadcasts and as an ambassador for the team.
Aside from Conine’s MVP award, the biggest Marlins moment at the All-Star Game probably came in last year’s Home Run Derby.
Stanton, who was selected for the 2015 game at Cincinnati but didn’t participate because of injury, showed up in San Diego for the Derby and put on a show with 24 home runs in the first round, which was just two shy of the record set by Josh Hamilton at Yankee Stadium in 2008.
After beating Robinson Cano 24-7 in the opening round, Stanton dispatched Mark Trumbo 17-14 in the second round. Stanton ended up hitting a record 61 homers in the Derby as he beat Todd Frazier 20-13 in the finals.
Stanton and Miami first baseman Justin Bour will represent the Marlins in Monday’s derby.
The Marlins haven’t always fared well at the Home Run Derby, but Stanton and Hanley Ramirez have done well.
At Angel Stadium in Anaheim in 2010, Ramirez became the first Marlins player to reach the final of the Derby before being beaten by David Ortiz 11-6.
Last year in San Diego, the Marlins matched a franchise-best with four players in the All-Star Game with Jose Fernandez having a memorable night in what would be his second — and tragically, final — All-Star appearance.
Facing Ortiz in what would be the future Hall of Fame slugger’s final All-Star at-bat, Fernandez tried feeding Ortiz something to hit out of Petco Park.
Instead, Ortiz drew a walk and was replaced by a pinch-runner. As Ortiz took it all in and was engulfed by his teammates, Fernandez tipped his cap from the mound.
“It was an amazing experience for me,” Fernandez said after the game.
“I was nervous because I couldn’t believe I was actually pitching to him. It was just great. He signed the jersey that I brought for him.
“His was the first baseball jersey that I bought when I came to the United States. It was a humbling experience seeing how time really flies by.”
For every great moment, there were a few the Marlins wouldn’t mind forgetting.
In 2008, Dan Uggla hit six out of Yankee Stadium in the Home Run Derby, then came into the All-Star Game the following night in the sixth inning. Uggla ended his night in the 15th inning with a record three errors and an 0-for-4 night at the plate with three strikeouts.
Still, he was happy to be a part of the All-Star experience.
“It was awesome, a great experience, playing in this game in this stadium,” he said. “It's something I will never forget.”
MARLINS IN THE ALL-STAR GAME
2017 at Miami: OF Marcell Ozuna (2nd appearance), OF Giancarlo Stanton (4th appearance)
2016 at San Diego: OF Marcell Ozuna (1), P Jose Fernandez (2), RP A.J. Ramos (1), RP Fernando Rodney (1)
2015 at Cincinnati: OF Giancarlo Stanton* (3), 2B Dee Gordon (1)
2014 at Minneapolis: OF Giancarlo Stanton (2), P Henderson Alvarez (1)
2013 at New York Mets: P Jose Fernandez (1)
2012 at Kansas City: OF Giancarlo Stanton (1)
2011 at Phoenix: 1B Gaby Sanchez (1)
2010 at Anaheim: SS Hanley Ramirez (3), P Josh Johnson (2)
2009 at St. Louis: SS Hanley Ramirez (2), P Josh Johnson (1)
2008 at New York Yankees: SS Hanley Ramirez (1), 2B Dan Uggla (2)
2007 at San Francisco: OF Miguel Cabrera (4)
2006 at Pittsburgh: 3B Miguel Cabrera (3), 2B Dan Uggla (1)
2005 at Detroit: 2B Luis Castillo (3), C Paul Lo Duca (1), P Dontrelle Willis (2), OF Miguel Cabrera (2)
2004 at Houston: P Armando Benitez (1), OF Miguel Cabrera (1), 3B Mike Lowell (3), P Carl Pavano (1)
2003 at Chicago White Sox: 3B Mike Lowell (2), 2B Luis Castillo (2), P Dontrelle Willis (1)
2002 at Milwaukee: 3B Mike Lowell (1), 2B Luis Castillo (1)
2001 at Seattle: C Charles Johnson (2), OF Cliff Floyd (1)
2000 at Atlanta: P Ryan Dempster (1)
1999 at Boston: SS Alex Gonzalez (1)
1998 at Denver: SS Edgar Renteria (1)
1997 at Cleveland: C Charles Johnson (1), OF Moises Alou (1), P Kevin Brown (2)
1996 at Philadelphia: OF Gary Sheffield (2), P Kevin Brown (1), P Al Leiter (1)
1995 at Arlington, Texas: OF Jeff Conine (2) – All-Star Game MVP
1994 at Pittsburgh: OF Jeff Conine (1)
1993 at Baltimore: 3B Gary Sheffield (1), RP Brian Harvey (1)
(*) – Injured, did not play
MARLINS IN THE HOME RUN DERBY
2017 at Miami: Giancarlo Stanton (3); Justin Bour (1)
2016 at San Diego: Giancarlo Stanton hits derby record 61 home runs to win first title
2014 at Minnesota: Giancarlo Stanton hits six in the first round, loses in the third
2010 at Anaheim: Hanley Ramirez advances to final, loses to David Ortiz
2008 at New York Yankees: Dan Uggla hits six homers in the opening round
2006 at Detroit: Miguel Cabrera hits 15 home runs, eliminated in the second round
1996 at Philadelphia: Gary Sheffield is first Marlns player to compete in the derby
This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 3:14 PM with the headline "The Marlins are ready to make more All-Star memories — this time in Miami."