Did the Miami Marlins just have their worst road trip ever?

What a difference a couple weeks has made for the Miami Marlins.

Back on May 27th, despite a pair of brutal injuries earlier in the week, Miami was poised to win a series against division rival Philadelphia and reach the .500 mark for the first time in 2021. Even after dropping that game, the Fish sat only three games out of first place in a crowded NL East race.

And then they took a little road trip.

The trip was, it is fair to say, a disaster for these 2021 Marlins. They lost multiple starting pitchers to injuries. They scored 3 runs or less in six out of nine contests. The bullpen blew three leads. All good enough for a 1-8 record that dropped Miami to a head spinning nine games under .500 on the season.

Certainly, recency bias is real when it comes to perception of team and player performance. Still, it seems fair to ask the following in the aftermath of such a bleak stretch of games:

Was that the worst road trip in Miami Marlins history?

Dramatically depressing topic to be sure. But one needs something to do to fill the time now that the trade deadline looks like it’s going to be more foreboding than immediately helpful for Miami. Plus, I wanted to see if the past nine days really was as bad as it looked. Because it definitely felt like it might have been historically bad while it was happening.

In terms of straight wins and losses, the answer is no. That dubious honor goes to the defending but defrocked world champions in 1998, who did manage to pull off an 0 for 9. In twenty-nine seasons, so far, that was the only time a Marlins team managed to go completely winless on a road trip longer than seven games (On six occasions, they have gone either 0 for 6 or 0 for 7).

However, it’s not just about the wins and losses when it comes to making this call.  Miami went 4-7 on an eleven game all-California trip back in 2014. Not bad…until you throw in that Jose Fernandez injury that knocked him out of action until mid-2015. September of that same season, they went 5-5 on another road trip….that cost them their MVP slugger, and consequently, their chance at a winning season.

Bottom-line, context matters here. I can tell you that the 1999 Miami Marlins went both 2-10 and 1-9 on a road trip at one point, but considering how terrible that team was, you’re probably just surprised they didn’t have a more awful trip. Ditto for the 1998, 2013, and 2019 clubs.

What follows then are, between context and record, the contenders for the worst road trip in Miami Marlins history. The trip that just happened does indeed crack the Top 5. Where does it fall though? Let’s find out.

1993 Miami Marlins: 6/14 to 6/20 (1-6 record)

Really more of an honorable mention here for the 1993 Miami Marlins than anything else. Obviously, expectations were low for the inaugural edition of the Fish. However, that didn’t stop them from battling back to one game under .500 and a 30-31 record after sweeping the Pirates during a brief four game homestand.

Then came the 1-6 record on the road against the Cubs and Phillies, and they were never even within five games of breaking even the rest of the way. Even with the addition of the mighty Gary Sheffield not long after that 1-6 road trip was concluded.

Just another reminder that this isn’t just about most losses on a trip (see 1998), most singularly damaging injury (see 2014). This is about impact on the overall season. Even that lowly, OG Marlins team can earn a spot here.

2001 Miami Marlins: 6/28 to 7/8 (2-9 record), 8/14 to 8/19 (0-6 record)

The 2001 Miami Marlins make the list twice, and almost advanced to the next round of this bleak exercise. Much like an awards race featuring two teammates though, the split vote proved too much to overcome.

That first rough trip came at a time that the young Marlins roster was riding high. Winners of ten of their last thirteen games, which included three straight series wins against NL East opponents, Miami had climbed above .500 for the first time that season. Their record stood at an impressive 41-36….and then Miami hit the road for an eleven game trip. They dropped nine of those games, crashing back to Earth as quickly as they had taken off.

However, they actually recovered somewhat, staying just above or right around .500 until mid-August. Then came a six game trip out west, all losses, against the Giants and the Rockies. After that, that 2001 squad never climbed any higher in the standings than five games under .500 the rest of the way.

This roster featured plenty of talent to be excited about, with the core of that 2003 championship club already in the majors and producing. Unfortunately, they were just horrific on the road, with a 30-52 record overall when away from Pro Player. These two trips represent the low points for a team whose Pythagorean projection actually had them as a .500 team, despite finishing the season ten games under that mark.

2021 Miami Marlins: 5/28 to 6/7 (1-8 record)

I guess the short answer would have been yes, what just happened was the worst Miami Marlins road trip ever.

Because it really, really was.

No, the 2021 Marlins were not supposed to be world beaters. Their own GM just confirmed that she didn’t even have any expectations higher than league average production for Miami’s offense. Yes, the playoffs were going to be a long shot without the expanded format (which should not be adopted in future seasons). Everyone knows that the team that finishes third in the NL West will be better than whoever finishes second in the Central and Eastern divisions.

But the 2021 Marlins were supposed to be…solidly decent? Competitive? In it to the end, even if never really, truly in it. Sadly, what FiveThirtyEight has identified as historically awful bad luck has been dealing body blows to those expectations all season long. At least in terms of the wins and losses.

This most recent road trip, however, was way more than a body blow. It just might have been a knockout punch.

Certainly, the Marlins are on the mat after a nine game trip that saw them eke out only a single win. Only six times in franchise history has a Miami team lost that many in a single road trip, and three of those came in those lost 1998 and 1999 seasons. It’s been a decade since a trip went this poorly, and that road trip saw a manager change happen. Technically, two manager changes. Go ahead, look it up.

Much like many of the other contenders on this list, some bad breaks preceded Miami leaving town for this miserable trip. Losing the left side of your starting infield will put a damper on things. As covered at the top though, the injury bug ruthlessly followed Miami out of town this time around. Miami had been waiting all season to get back to their actual, projected five-man pitching rotation.

When this trip started, that was supposed to happen. When this trip ended, three more starting pitchers had gotten hurt on the trip, and the news broke that stud prospect Sixto Sanchez had suffered yet another setback. Oh, and clarity was offered on that left side of the infield, with news their injuries were definitely not going to be mere 10-game stints on the IL.

The losses in the loss column hurt to be sure. The Pirates had just spent a week being mocked by the baseball world for abject stupidity; dropping three out of four to them was crushing. Dropping five games to the Blue Jays and Red Sox might have made more sense in some ways, but the Marlins had the best starting pitching of any of the four teams just mentioned. They should have at least won five games, even depleted as they were. They got one. One. 

Before this trip started, the talk was about what the Marlins should add. One road trip later, the conversation has shifted to when the selling will start. Before the trip started, the conversation about Miami’s young prospects was about which ones could help Miami in 2021. One road trip later, the talk is all about getting a feel for what Miami will be working with in 2022.

Again, the true contention window for the Miami was supposed to open next season, not this summer. It was never supposed to go this south this fast though. Admittedly, I do also pretty much consider it a coin toss between what just happened, and that 2002 pummeling, for the top spot.

At the end of the day though, give me this most recent road trip as the worst one in Miami Marlins franchise history.