Miami Marlins doing one thing really well so far in 2022

Many Miami Marlins fans are saying it’s the same old story right now, but there is one thing the team is doing better than they have in over a decade.

For the most part, these 2022 Miami Marlins aren’t doing much to make fans believe this season will be any different than last year. Different from last year … or any other full-length Marlins season in recent memory.

Entering play on Tuesday, the Miami Marlins overall record sits at 16-19. Sure, the Pythagorean projection has them as a 19-16 squad, but as the old saying goes, you are what your record says you are. Unfortunately, what it says right now is that they are a below. 500 ball club.

Except for how they are handling the rest of the NL East, that is.

Because when it comes to divisional play, Miami is off to a dizzying start at 9-2. That’s good enough for their best start against the rest of the NL East since 2009. I mean, that’s like at least two Miami Marlins uniform changes ago — back when Florida was still part of the team’s name and games were still played at the Stadium Formerly Known As Joe Robbie.

As the kids say, it’s been a minute.

Back then, the Marlins received a spark from the flashiest of flash in the pans in Emilio Bonifacio to get the season off to an 11-1 start. Every one of those games was against the NL East. And while Bonifacio never really recaptured the magic of that 4-for-5, one home run, three stolen base day against the Washington Nationals, there’s no question that early drubbing of Miami’s division rivals paid dividends all season long.

For proof, look no further than this fact: The last time the Miami Marlins had a winning record in a full season? That’d be 2009.

Miami has had two winning records against the division since then. Two. One came the very next year, in 2010, when Miami had their last 80-win season, and a projection of 81-81. The other was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Absolutely, there have been bumps in the road this season. There has been plenty of cause for concern. But there has also been some cause for hope, be it that Pythagorean projection, run differential, Jazz Chisholm Jr. ‘s emergence, take your pick. Ultimately though, there’s no easier way to help yourself end up with a winning record than taking care of business against the teams you play the most.

So far in 2022, the Miami Marlins are doing just that. If they keep it up, it could prove difficult for them to avoid being the best Miami Marlins team in over a decade.