NEW YORK, 28 October 2003 — On the green grass of Yankee Stadium, the upstart Florida Marlins did something that no other team had accomplished in 22 years — winning a World Series title.
Go figure. Go fish.
“We were on a mission. Nobody gave us a chance and here we are, the World Series champs,” said Florida manager Jack McKeon.
It took McKeon 54 years to get a team with the brawn and a brash enough attitude to make up a winner and then it took him just five months to mould them into a World Series champion.
“I took this job with the idea that I could turn this club around and make a winner,” said McKeon, who at 72 is the oldest manager to win a World Series.
“I didn’t have any idea that we would win the playoffs or the win the wildcard. I had no idea we would get to the World Series and I had no idea that we would win the World Series.” Since McKeon took over from fired manager Jeff Torborg in May, Florida quietly compiled the best record in baseball.
They are the first team since the New York Mets in 1973 to come from 10 games under .500 to reach the World Series.
Florida fans almost lost their team two years ago when the money-losing club were a candidate for elimination.
The team was sold twice in three years but managed to remain in Florida.
The Marlins not only won their second championship in seven years, but they slayed the mighty “Bronx Bombers”, the most expensive team in history with a $180 million payroll. By comparison the Marlins’ payroll is a paltry $55 million. “Man I tell you what, it starts in the clubhouse,” said flame thrower Josh Beckett, who tossed a two-hit shutout in a 2-0 win on Saturday that delivered the World Series title to Florida.
“Everybody believes in one another. And I said before we played the Giants that we were young and we didn’t have any experience or whatever. And we might be stupid enough to win this thing.”
But now it is the Yankees who are looking foolish. Like the old man and his canine companion in Of Mice and Men, the Yankees were like that old mutt that needed to be put down. New York city was preparing for a game seven which would have brought the Big Apple to a grinding halt. Taxi drivers, service industry workers, cops, Wall Street traders and truck drivers were all trying to book Sunday off so they could stay home and watch their beloved Yankees on TV. The only trouble was, someone forgot to tell the Marlins. Florida refused to be intimidated by New York’s rabid fans or the so-called “ghosts” of Yankees Stadium.
“They certainly have been tested all the way to the World Series and they didn’t flinch,” said Yankee manager Joe Torre of the Marlins. That’s right. The victory over the Yankees marked underdog Florida’s third consecutive series comeback this postseason.
“We got a bunch of guys on our team that truly believed in our team,” said Beckett.
“Nobody thought we could beat San Francisco. Nobody thought we could beat the Cubs and definitely nobody thought we could beat the Yankees and now here we are.”
Menwhile, Joe Torre reflected on a disappointing loss but the New York Yankees manager doesn’t believe two consecutive World Series defeats constitutes the end of an era.
“You never know that,” Torre said after Florida’s 2-0 victory gave the Marlins the Major League Baseball crown over the Yankees four games to two.
“They talked about the end of an era before, but we resurfaced again. We always manage to get the players that are capable of great things.”
