Today in Miami Marlins History: Two Franchise Milestones

Florida Marlins pitcher Al Leiter throws a pitch in the first inning of Miami's game 21 May with the New York Mets at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. This was Leiters' first start after being placed on the disabled list 01 May with a bone bruise on his right knee. AFP PHOTO/RHONA WISE (Photo by RHONA WISE / AFP) (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)
Florida Marlins pitcher Al Leiter throws a pitch in the first inning of Miami's game 21 May with the New York Mets at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. This was Leiters' first start after being placed on the disabled list 01 May with a bone bruise on his right knee. AFP PHOTO/RHONA WISE (Photo by RHONA WISE / AFP) (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)
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(Photo by RHONA WISE / AFP) (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by RHONA WISE / AFP) (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)

May 11th was a big day in team history for the Miami Marlins as not just one, but two notable franchise firsts were achieved.

For a franchise with only six winning seasons, the Miami Marlins have had plenty of notable milestones.

Bizarrely enough, a lot of them have happened in the month of May. Plenty of franchise lows have gone down in the season’s second month. Alex Fernandez played the last game of his professional career this month. Fourteen years later, another fan favorite Fernandez underwent Tommy John surgery. May has seen some massive losing streaks, and not surprisingly, some dramatic personnel decisions. But it has also seen plenty of highs. If nothing else, it’s an interesting month for pitchers, and really just for the Marlins overall.

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More interesting still, two of these milestones happened on the same day. May 11th, some seven years apart. Even more interestingly, both these milestones came at the expense of the Colorado Rockies.

At any rate, it’s the kind of thing that passes for interesting when baseball has been indefinitely delayed. But May 11th is quite the loaded day for the Miami Marlins, and would be worth reflecting on even if the 2020 Marlins were in action against the Reds today.

Had Miami played a game today, it would be their twenty-sixth time doing so on May 11th. The Marlins sport an 11-14 record on the day, making 2020 only the third time ever they’ve failed to get a game in on this date. The first victory on this date didn’t come until Miami’s fourth season, a blowout laugher against the Colorado Rockies.

That same blowout laugher was also the biggest day in Miami Marlins history since Opening Day back in that inaugural 1993 season.

Just what was so special about an 11-0 shellacking of baseball’s other expansion team? Let’s take a look.