Now that the Marlins have solidified their future, what better way to celebrate than looking back to the past?  In this series (presuming I don't give up on it), we'll look at the 16 Opening Day games in Marlins history, with a specific eye on the starting pitchers.  First up, Charlie Hough's starts in 93's historic Franchise Opening Day and the somewhat less historic 94 opener.

1993: Marlins vs. Dodgers

via Fangraphs
(for more on WPA, click here)

Ah, Franchise Opening Day.  Packed house, high spirits, and a rather convincing first victory.  The Dodgers would go on to a .500 season, while the Fish... well, hey, high spirits right?

pitcher    ip    h    r    er    bb    so    hr    era    pitches    game score
Hough    6     6    3    3      2      4    1      4.5    95/63            50

Not too bad, all in all -- one might even call it a quality start.  Old Man Hough was the anchor of the original staff, the only starter to log over 200 innings and putting up a solid 4.27 ERA (100 ERA+).  The knuckler opened the, uh, opener in style, striking out Jose Offerman and Brett Butler, then getting Daryl Strawberry to ground out.

As you can see, the 2nd inning was the only time the Fish weren't in control of the game.  Eric Davis, the most exciting player Voros McCracken and Craig Calcaterra have ever seen, led off with a double, only to be erased at third when right fielder Junior Felix misplayed Tim Wallach's liner.  But while the error allowed Felix to get Davis, it also turned Wallach's should-be out into a double.  Hough would walk Eric Karros, but get future-Marlin Mike Piazza to ground into an inning-ending double play.  This would not be the last GIDP for Piazza.  It would, however, be the last time the Dodgers had the win probability in their favor.

The first runs in franchise history would come on Unofficial Game MVP Walt Weiss' two-run triple, driving in Benny Santiago and Mr. Marlin.  Write that one down in case it comes up during Trivia Night at the bar. 

Strange But True: Two of LA's three RBIs came from players in their own personal Franchise Openers.  While of course all the Fish were marking their first official game as Marlins, both Tim Wallach and Jody Reed were sporting Dodgers jerseys for the first time in their careers.
Strange But True, FishStripes Edition: Maybe it's just me, but I've always "mentally pronounced" FishStriper jrfelix as J-R-Felix.  It only now strikes me as also being "Junior Felix."  Between Felix and Orestes Destrade, we've got 2/9ths of the Franchise Opener lineup right here with us.  Then again, something tells me that our jrfelix might actually be more famous than his namesake.

1994: Marlins @ Dodgers

via Fangraphs
(for more on WPA, click here)

Well, you win some, you lose some.  This time, the Dodgers take the opener, though in a much closer and, as you can see by the graph, much more exciting game.  1994 of course saw the season ended by the players strike, which likely was the beginning of the end for Montreal baseball -- an end that the Marlins will forever be linked to.  Thanks Jeff and David!  Aaaanyway...

pitcher    ip    h    r    er    bb    so    hr    era    pitches    game score
Hough    6     6    2    2     2       2     0     3.0    84/50             52

Another Opening Day, another quality start for Hough.  This one was an improvement over 93 in almost every way, and yet the Fish would take the loss thanks to bullpen walks and fielding errors.  Boy, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Hough put the Fish in a hole right from the start, giving up a single and a triple to start the 1st.  Jerry Browne, in his first game as a Marlin, would then be charged with an error on future-Marlin Mike Piazza's ground ball, allowing Piazza to reach safely and Butler to score.  Piazza would be erased when trying to prove his legs by going first to third on a passed ball.  This would not be the last time Piazza made an out on the basepaths. 

Mr. Marlin would quickly cut the lead to 1, smacking the very first pitch he saw in 1994 out of the park.  This would turn out to be a good omen for Niner, as he would put up a .525 slugging percentage in 94, the best mark of his career.  But that would be the only run of the inning, with Charlie Hough not helping his cause.  After drawing a walk to join Santiago on the basepaths, Hough would bring an end to the inning when he was struck by Chuck Carr's would-be single through the right side. 

The middle innings would see Hough work hard to keep runs off the board (like when Carr's error allowed opposing pitcher Orel Hershiser to reach first, and then make it to second on Santiago's passed ball on a third strike that would have ended the inning).  His work seemed to be repaid in the 7th, when the Fish took advantage of Orel's leaving.  New pitcher Jim Gott would hit Santiago, and then get rocked on his next pitch, which Kurt Abbott, in his first game as a Marlin, would send into the stands.  With two out, Chuck Carr would walk and then advance to third when Gott's pickoff throw sailed into the outfield.  But Browne would add to his earlier woes, grounding out and leaving Carr on third.  The Fish would have to settle for a one-run lead.

Hough would make way for Yorkis Perez, in his first game as a Marlin (sensing a trend yet?).  Perez wasn't around long, however, giving up a walk and allowing a stolen base, before getting his only out on a sacrifice bunt.  In would come Jeremy Hernandez (yes, in his first game as a Marlin) who almost escaped the inning, getting Piazza to line out, but Eric Karros would send a ball into short left field, driving in the tying run.  The Fish would go down 1-2-3 in the 8th.  Hernandez led off the bottom of the 8th with a walk, and Tommy Lasorda brought in 35 year old Mitch Webster to pinch run.  The move would seem to have paid off, as Webster's attempt at taking second would actually result in his reaching third, thanks to yet another Marlins error.  An intentional walk to bring up the pitcher would lead to another Lasorda substitution, bringing on Jeff Treadway to pinch hit.  Tie game, man on third with one out - you know what's coming.  Sac fly by Treadway plates the go-ahead run.  The Fish would go down in order in the 9th, bringing their Opening Day record to an even 1-1.

Hough Stuff

• Of course, these would be Charlie Hough's final two Opening Day starts, as they were indeed his final two seasons.  But in his career, he also started 6 Opening Days for the Rangers, the most in that franchise's history. 
• Hough was the oldest player in the majors for each of his seasons with Florida, throwing at 45 and 46.  In fact, when the Marlins and Nationals open the season in a few days, there will not be a player on either roster who was even alive when Hough debuted, August 12, 1970.  Hell, last year there were only 55 players in all of baseball who were born in or before 1970.
• And for the record, in that debut, Hough recorded the save, stopping a suddenly resurgent Pirates team from coming back on the Dodgers in the ninth.  His first strikeout victim?  Hall of Famer Willie Stargell.
• Born in Honolulu, Hough tallied more career wins than any Hawaiian pitcher in MLB history, positioning himself firmly in the debate over best Hawaiian pitcher, amongst the Mets '86 Championship duo of Sid Fernandez and Ron Darling.

I'm sure I could pull stuff for days, so let's call it here.  Of course, I encourage you kids to discuss your Charlie Hough and/or 1993 Marlins thoughts and stories.  That's what we're here for, right?

Next time: The Kevin Brown Years (aka John Burkett Does Not Get His Own Post)