Joined the
National League with the
Colorado Rockies in 1993. Play in
Dolphins Stadium (formerly
Pro Player Stadium and before that
Joe Robbie Stadium), also home of the
Miami Dolphins.
Wayne Huizenga, then owner of the Dolphins, successfully lobbied for a baseball franchise in South Florida in the early nineties. He sold the team in 1998 to John Henry, after making the Marlins the quickest expansion team to win a World Series the previous year.
After fielding a decent team in 1996 (finishing 80-82, 16 games behind the Atlanta Braves), Huizenga signed a number of high priced free agents and manager Jim Leyland in an effort to make a run at the playoffs in 1997. This tactic succeeded as the Marlins beat the Braves in the NLCS and took the World Series from the Cleveland Indians in 7 games.
Following the season, Huizenga claimed to have lost 50 million dollars in bringing the Marlins to their only playoff appearance. He promptly held a fire sale, trading away all of the best Marlins players for younger and cheaper players; Kevin Brown went to Padres, Moises Alou went to the Astros, and Robb Nen went to the Giants. In the middle of the 1998, the Marlins traded Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, and Bobby Bonilla to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza, only to trade Piazza five days later to the Mets. The Marlins finished the 1998 season at 54-108, 52 games behind the Braves.
Update regarding sale to Jeffrey Loria and the 2003 World Series coming soon.