Marlins and Padres Unique History

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I never had a chance to mention this to Marlins Manager Skip Schumaker because I was focused on pre-game questions prior to their August 10, 2024 contest. 

If I had time, I would have asked the Marlins manager did he know that Miami was the Class A affiliate of the Padres in the Florida State League in 1983-1984?

This squad played at the now demolished Miami Stadium, which are now apartments.

The team was managed by Jim Breazeale and their best player was catcher Benito Santiago. My good friend and baseball life Brian Butterfield also played on this steam which finished 44-89 (.331).

Under Manager Steven Smith, the 1984 fared much better by compiling a 64-74 (.464) and the best player on the team was pitcher Lance McCullers. He went on to have a pretty good career,

At the game, my questioning was on the recent acquisition on outfielder Derek Hill and one of the new cornerstones Xavier Edwards. I told Schumaker the last time that I saw Edwards play was when he hit for the cycle in Milwaukee, buy Skip said, I’m glad you’re back.

You’ll see Schumacher’s comments in the enclosed video.

Edwards proceeded to get nine total bases in the game we attended. He walked and reached third (3) had a single and scored (4), had another walk (1) and hit into a fielders choice (1).

The Marlins and Padres unique history has taken on a new meaning this season.

The Fish traded last year’s batting champion Luis Arraez in May for prospects in a move that signaled to the fans and media to get ready for a tear-down under the new front office regime led by Peter Bendix.

When the trade deadline came a few weeks ago, these two teams made an another huge move.

This swap saw the Marlins send closer Tanner Scott and reliever Bryan Hoeing in return for prospects. Time will tell how these prospects will develop, but Scott and Hoeing are making a difference for the red-hot Padres. These two hurlers go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

In the game we saw, Arraez reached base twice and scored a run. Scott amassed his 19th save and first with the Padres in a 9-8 win in 10 innings.

San Diego would win the series 2-1 with the Marlins lone victory occurring on Sunday, 7-6.

But when you look at the Padres season, former Manager Bob Melvin resigned and signed with the San Francisco Giants.

San Diego hired former St. Louis Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt. 

The Padres record is 73-57 (.557) and they’re a really dangerous team despite playing without superstar Fernando Tatis Jr.

San Diego currently has the best record in MLB since the All-Star Break with a 22-6 mark.

If there is a team to watch down the stretch, it’s the Padres. Once Tatis Jr. returns, they figure to add another bat to the line-up.

As for Miami, Schumaker will be a free agent at the end of the season as both sides mutually agreed to void the third year on his contract.

For the manager, his main objective is to do the best with what he has to work with, then both sides will have fresh starts in 2025.

I never thought I’d see the day that I would put Santiago, McCullers, Arraez, Scott and Hoeing in the same story, but that’s the “Unique History” of these two franchises.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can subscribe to see his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

If you want to reach him on Twitter/X you can do so @TribuneSouth.

Finally, his book “Lessons From The Microphone” can be obtained for purchase on Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Eventful Day In Milwaukee

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

During the Miami Marlins most recent three game series at the Milwaukee Brewers from July 26-28, it was a very chaotic weekend.

The trade deadline was looming and the Marlins were sellers. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was sent packing on Saturday, July 27 to the New York Yankees. Before the series began, AJ Puk was sent to Arizona and Trevor Rogers landed in Baltimore.

Despite these trades, the Marlins did manage to win the first two games of the series 6-2 and 7-3 scores.

Would the Marlins be able to pull off the sweep on Sunday July 28, at American Family Field?

The Brewers were honoring long time outfielder Ryan Braun inducting him into Walk of Fame as he played his entire 13-year career in the Beer City. It was certainly a heart warming ceremony before the game.

The Brewers jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the first inning and proceeded to cruise to a 6-2 win.

The Marlins had their chance to score runs in the third inning, but the stellar play of Brewers second baseman Brice Turang stymied them. Turang made two sensational diving plays off the bats of Jesus Sanchez and Otto Lopez. The Brewers held their 2-1 lead.

Milwaukee scored two runs in the fourth and fifth inning to extend its lead to 6-1. Miami would add another run in the seventh inning to close the gap to 6-2.

But aside from Braun, there was another story unfolding for Miami as rookie shortstop Xavier Edwards became the second player in Marlins history to record a cycle. The other was Luis Arraez, who had his during the 2023 season.

When I returned to LoanDepot Park on Saturday, August 10, there was one man that was glad to see me at the ballpark. It was Marlins Manager Skip Schumaker before Miami played the San Diego Padres.

During the pre-game media availability, I asked Skip about the Marlins recent acqusition of outfielder Derek Hill.

But my second question was about Edwards. 

I told the skipper that the last time I saw Edwards play was when he hit for the cycle. That’s when he told he was glad that I was back.

I asked him what he brings to the team and you’ll hear his response by clicking on the video.

After the Marlins loss to the Brewers, this would be the final game for first baseman Josh Bell, was subsequently dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks for their stretch run.

When you talk about an “Eventful Day In Milwaukee” how often can you see a player who spent his entire career with one organization get honored and one from the opposition hit for the cycle?

Of the three games, this was certainly the best one to attend and one that I’ll never forget!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, there is no charge to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.

Finally, Scott’s book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which emphasizes Old School Media vs New School Media is available at Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble. 

They Come And They Go

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

How would you define the 2024 Miami Marlins season?

There are numerous ways and as of today, the Fish are 43-74 going into this afternoon’s game vs the San Diego Padres.

Before Opening Day, Miami found out that Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara would miss the entire season due to injury. Shortly after that, another hurler Eury Perez would be another season ending casualty.

As the losses piled up early, Miami shipped 2023 National League batting champion, Luis Arraez to the Padres in May as President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix was ready to sell early.

I can only imagine how much ink the Marlins used with player transactions all-season long.

For myself, it’s been interesting trying to find feature stories as the players came and went.

In Detroit, thanks to the efforts of Luis Dorante Jr. who has become my most dependable resource in the Marlins organization, we landed outfielder Dane Myers. Unfortunately for Myers, about a month ago, he would get injured.

During trade deadline week, Dorante and I exchanged text messages when I traveled to Milwaukee and covered a game on July 28, 2024.

I sent Dorante text messages to get pitchers Trevor Rogers and AJ Puk, but they were traded before we could get to them. 

We both laughed about it because we knew this would be a challenging week to get players.

Because Sunday games are earlier, it’s close to impossible to get any interviews.

But at Noon Central Time, Dorante worked his magic again as he told me he could land a relief pitcher. I told him to go for it.

That pitcher turned out to be Bryan Hoeing and after briefly looking at his bio, I knew I had a great catch. 

Hoeing hails from Indiana and his first name is spelled the same way as my middle name. I have a lot of fun talking to Midwesterner’s.

Hoeing is one of the most down to earth players I’ve ever dealt with. 

Hoeing played two sports. In addition to baseball, he also played basketball. 

There is nothing better than talking to an Indiana athlete who plays basketball when you consider that the late Bobby Knight coached the Indiana Hoosiers. My favorite movie of all time is “Hoosiers.”

We talked about basketball and the Marlins recent flurry of trades that even included Jazz Chisholm being shipped to the New York Yankees.

He also gave his thoughts about playing for Marlins skipper, Skip Schumaker.

What would occur after Sunday was another unbelievable story that will appear in “Lessons From The Microphone, Part 2” that will be released at the beginning of 2025.

What did happen at the trade deadline was closer Tanner Scott and you guessed it, Hoeing was traded to the Padres in exchange for prospects.

You talk about timing, this was unbelievable. 

Who knows if I’ll be able to land Hoeing again this afternoon but if I don’t, I’m just thankful that we had a chance to have a good time and now I’ll begin tracking his career.

In baseball, you never know what stories unexpectedly fall into your lap. But when they come, it’s vitally important that you pounce on them and have great friends like Dorante in your corner to help you get the job done.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

Also, to see his broadcasts, please subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.

Scott’s Book, “Lessons From the Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon-Kindle and Barnes’s & Noble.