MIAMI -- Two-time World Series champion Jeff Conine will be inducted into the Marlins Legends Hall of Fame as its inaugural member this afternoon at loanDepot park. MLB.com spoke to “Mr. Marlin” about some of the most memorable moments from his eight seasons with the club. |
Oct. 4, 2003: The ‘walk-off’ throw
The Marlins don’t win the World Series without one of the more dramatic finishes in postseason history three weeks earlier. Closer Ugueth Urbina was clinging to a one-run lead with two runners on and two outs in Game 4 of the National League Division Series when Jeffrey Hammonds singled to left field. Conine fired a one-hop throw to catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who held onto the ball despite a home-plate collision with J.T. Snow. “[Hammonds] took a big swing and I thought it was going to be hit better than it was, so I broke back a little bit, and I went, ‘Oh crap. I've got to go in,’” Conine said. “It felt like I was running forever to go get this ball. And as I'm running, I'm like, ‘All right, do I dive for this ball? I've got to catch it because [Snow is] going to score.’ “And I'm thinking, ‘No, I don't think I can catch it. If I dive for it, it might get away from me. Then [Hammonds is] going to get to second base, and that's the go-ahead run.’ [I’m thinking] all this stuff within it seemed like 30 seconds, but probably happened in a second and a half. “‘I'm just going to field it and hit my cutoff man and do my job.’ It took a weird hop, and I got ready to throw, and I saw where [Snow] was, and I was shocked that he was just a step past third base. I saw the trajectory of the ball, and I'm thinking, ‘There's going to be a bang-bang play at the plate. Pudge just hold on.’ It almost seemed like everything was in slow motion when that happened. And then [Rodriguez] holds the ball up, and then it went back to fast motion and we're celebrating.” |
Aug. 31, 2003: He’s back
Conine’s NLDS theatrics might not have happened if not for some outdated technology. Then-Orioles general manager Jim Beattie came onto the team bus after a road series against the Mariners to inform Conine that a trade was in the works with the Marlins. On the cross-country flight from Seattle to Baltimore, Conine negotiated with then-Marlins GM Larry Beinfest.
“I had to basically work on the trade on the air phone on the plane, back in the day when they had air phones, and thank God they did, or else it never would have happened,” Conine said. “I had another year left in my contract in Baltimore. They wanted to break it up into two years, so there was some negotiating to do there, so it wasn't cut and dry. “Literally, [Beattie] told me right before we got on the plane. I called my wife, and she was excited, and I tried to get a hold of my agent, but he was in the air, going from somewhere else. So I'm like, ‘Well, you've got to tell my agent when he lands: This is the situation, and get him with the Marlins.’ I was just calling every half-hour, checking in.” |
Oct. 26, 1997: We are the champions Conine hit 17 homers for the ballclub that season. He pinch-hit in Game 7, popping out to end the eighth.
“That was the craziest series,” Conine said. “We traded wins the whole time, and then to end it like that. … That team, we knew we had something special in Spring Training. We really did. And the confidence. I don't think any of us were surprised that we ended up where we ended up.” |
July 11, 1995: You’re an All-Star In his second Midsummer Classic, Conine was in the on-deck circle to pinch-hit for Ron Gant in the seventh, but Fred McGriff struck out to end the inning. Conine led off the eighth in a tie ballgame and belted the decisive homer for MVP honors. “I asked Matt Williams [about] Steve Ontiveros from Oakland,” Conine said. “‘He likes his cutter, throws a lot of cutters.’ So I went up there, and I'm taking the first pitch all the way, and he throws a cutter for a ball. I thought about taking the next pitch -- I don't want to get too amped up. I'm like, ‘No, he might groove one here.’ So I went back in there, and he did, and I hit a home run.” |
April 5, 1993: A day of firsts Only four franchises have debuted over the last 32 years, and Conine was there for one of them. He went 4-for-4 and collected the first steal in franchise history. “Opening Day, obviously, was pretty special,” Conine said. “Charlie Hough on the mound and 42,000 [fans] there. We drew over 3 million that year. Just the excitement of a brand-new franchise finally getting started. That was a pretty special day.” |
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Ace Sandy Alcantara, who made his highly anticipated return from Tommy John surgery, gifted 60 bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to members of the organization -- from teammates to staff to trainers. “I feel like I need to do something for them,” Alcantara said. “I think they deserve it, because we've got a lot of players who got their first Opening Day start, and [I] just wanted to give something to congratulate them. “That came from my heart, and I do it because I want to do it. There's nothing I want to receive back, but I feel good about it.” |
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