South Florida sports are hot. Miami native Sean Rodriguez is ‘pumped’ to be part of it.
The last time the Miami Marlins were making a real run at the MLB postseason, Sean Rodriguez had just graduated from G. Holmes Braddock High School in Miami.
Sean Rodriguez went in the third round of the 2003 MLB draft and a few months later the Marlins — then the Florida Marlins — won their second World Series. They haven’t been back to the postseason since.
“That’s the year I was drafted,” said Rodriguez, who rejoined Miami on Tuesday after more than a month on the injured list, “so, yeah, I’m pumped.”
He echoes the sentiment of sports fans all across South Florida. The Miami Heat is in the NBA Conference Finals and three wins away from the NBA Finals. The Miami Hurricanes football team, Rodriguez’s childhood favorite, is ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2018. Even so, Rodriguez’s Marlins are best feel-good sports story in town.
Rodriguez was one of 18 players to test positive for COVID-19 in July and the Marlins (24-22) still managed to just keep winning games. Entering a 6:40 p.m. game Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox in Miami, the Marlins sat in second place in the National League East, boasted the fifth best record in the entire NL and sat in postseason position with a 71.3 percent chance to make the expanded 16-team playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
Without fans allowed at Marlins Park because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s impossible to gauge excitement based on 2020 attendance numbers. Rodriguez knows enough about Miami to know how the city is feeling about the Marlins.
“This city always rallies around a winner,” Rodriguez said. “Look at what the Heat’s doing. Obviously, the fans are excited about that. Obviously, growing up the teams to watch were obviously the Hurricanes and they never disappointed back in those 2000s for me being a kid growing up, so, yeah, this community rallies around winners.”
Rodriguez joined the Marlins in the offseason hoping to play for this sort of winner. The 35-year-old said he’s still playing because he wants to win a ring and he hoped he could do so in his hometown, contributing as a third baseman, shortstop and outfielder. He started the year in the Majors, but never got to play in a game before going on the IL with COVID.
On Tuesday, the Marlins finally recalled him from the alternate training site in Jupiter when second baseman Isan Diaz suffered a season-ending groin injury. On Wednesday, he’ll make his first appearance for the Marlins, batting seventh and playing left field against the Red Sox (18-31) as the Marlins give all three starting outfielders the day off following eight games in the last six days.
Like just about every other player to rejoin the team after battling the virus, Rodriguez called his season “a roller coaster”
“Since the first day I got to the league, I’ve always wanted to be that player that always tries to win and then, to top it off, obviously doing it for my hometown team,” Rodriguez said. “It’s really exciting.”
Marlins outfielders get day off
Rodriguez got the nod for his start with the Marlins on Wednesday largely because the Marlins are trying to find some time off for everyone as they’ll play the rest of the season without an off day.
On Wednesday, it was a brief respite for all three of the Marlins’ usual starting outfielders.
Outfielders Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte and Matt Joyce, from left to right, are all out. Rodriguez, and fellow outfielders Monte Harrison and Lewis Brinson are in.
At least in Marte’s case, Don Mattingly is trying to manage some nagging injuries before anything gets too bad. The manager is hopeful to get his best hitter back in the lineup Thursday for the Marlins’ series finale against Boston.
“He’s a little beat up and we’re having a little collateral damage from probably all those games we played in a short period of time with Philly, so we’ve got some things that we want to kind of stay on top of,” Mattingly said. “We know we’ve still got a bunch of games. I hate taking him out of the lineup at any time, but it’s not worth the risk of him playing with a little something and then that turning into something bigger, and we miss him for five, six games, so hopefully we can give him a day today and get him right back out there tomorrow.”
Marlins unveil 2021 spring schedule
As of now, MLB is moving forward with planning to start spring training as usual in February. The Marlins will kick off the spring Feb. 27 with a pair of split-squad games against the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. Their game against the Cardinals will be a home game at Roger Dean Stadium.
The Marlins will play 30 games, including a pair of days with two split-squad games, across the final days of February and March. The Grapefruit League slate with wrap up March 28 against the Mets in Jupiter.
Game times have not yet been announced for the Marlins’ spring schedule.
