Jeff Conine wore two different numbers for the Marlins
If anyone was going to have their number retired by the Miami Marlins, you’d think the player called Mr. Marlin would have had a better shot than most.
Jeff Conine won two World Series with the Marlins, playing with the team from 1993-1997 and 2003-2005. You’ll find him in the top 5 on almost every major statistical category on the organization’s career leaderboards, most notably coming in second for games played and third in hits. Eight years, all impactful. He might not have been the most talented to ever wear a Marlins jersey, but you’d struggle to find one that was more dedicated to the success of the team.
However, a bigger issue here than the lack of an elite resume might just be the fact that he wore two different numbers during his time in Miami.
The first time around, he wore No. 19. Upon his return though, another player was already wearing the number, and it was one of the best players on the team: Mike Lowell. That complicates matters even more since Lowell’s name is another that often comes up in these number retirement conversations.
Bizarrely enough, the only Marlins player that even holds a candle to Conine’s team-first mentality is current team captain Miguel Rojas, who has worn No. 19 since 2015, longer than either Conine or Lowell ever did.
Bottom-line, if Conine had a different favorite number, the Marlins probably would have retired it by now. And if Miguel Rojas gets himself a ring during his career here, don’t sleep on a blanket retirement of No. 19 at some point either.
Granted, titles aren’t everything, because there’s another number that came very close to being retired…