Greg Cote’s Poll Dance: Was this Miami Marlins season a success? Vote now!
The Miami Marlins season that ends this weekend: Was it a success? Or not a success?
Not a simple answer, we might agree. Depends on your perspective, and your patience level. Did it exceed or fall short of your realistic expectatons?
Plus side: Marlins are a credible 78-82 and third in the division in thiis final weekend of regular season -- and were still in the wild-card playoff chase until being eliminated Thursday. It will be a minimum 16-game improvement over last season. Competitive despite the third-youngest roster in MLB. A team oft-exciting and top-10 in several offensive categories. Promising years from Xavier Edwards, Kyle Stowers, Augustin Ramirez, Otto Lopez, Edwin Cabrera, Eury Perez and others (with strong second half by Sandy Alcantara). And how ‘bout that home sweep of the Yankees?
Negatives: No playoffs, bottom line. Erratic, inconsistent, up and down season. Third-lowest player payroll in MLB. How can they ever hope to catch and surpass the much-higher-spending Phillies and Mets in the tough, tough NL East? Oh, and home attendance ranked 28th of 30 teams, so evidently the product still wasn’t attractive enough.
I suppose how you answer our question will also convey your sense of optimism moving forward. Is the Marlins’ low-spending model building to a future that never quite arrives? Or is there legit hope in this youthful, farm system-led model blooming into something that is a sustainable winner?
So: Was this a successful Marlins season? Or not?
Vote as many times as you like or until your fingers ache.
GREG COTE’S POLL DANCE: Was this Marlins season a success?
Previous Poll Dance verdict: Judge swamps Raleigh for AL MVP: We asked, “Who most deserves to be voted AL MVP?” You said, Yankees’ Aaron Judge 66% and Mariners’ Cal Raleigh 34%. Note: Raliegh led early in voting until droves of Judge votes poured in. Orchestrated? No law agin’ it.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 12:09 PM.
