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Miami Marlins By Month: July Edition

How have the Marlins fared historically in July and what's in store for them this year?

By Thomas Bennett
Shoot for the stars, my friend!
Shoot for the stars, my friend!
Harry How/Getty Images

Ready for some second half baseball, Miami? I sure as hell am.

After having tracked April, May, and June performances to date, July's Marlins By Month will be the latest installment.

*ba-dum tssss*

Yes, we are almost half way through the month, but that doesn't mean we still can't learn something. For example, did you know that because the Marlins went 14-13 in June, they became the first team in Miami Marlins history to have a .500 record at the end of each of the first three months of the season? The 2016 team has only further solidified themselves as one of the best (the best?!) squad in the admittedly brief span since they began donning the orange.

So travel with me down the tangled path of July's past, and perhaps, just maybe, we might catch a glimpse of the future!

2015 - The Marlins went 10-15, lowlighted by a trio of three game sweeps to the Phillies, Padres and Nationals. In case you forgot, the former two weren't any good last year either, while the latter was beset by clubhouse turmoil, making the results particularly ignominious.

2014 - Despite a mid-month sweep by the Mets, the '14 Fish were able to go 14-12 in July thanks to a late month six game win streak that included a sweep of the then terrible Houston Astros.

2013 - 12-14 in July for the 100 loss '13 Fish, which sadly stands as one of their best months that season.

2012 - The freshly minted Miami Marlins followed up a wretched June with a horrid July, going 10-17 and causing all viewing to abandon any hope of contention in the new ballpark.

Boy, that was rough...why are we doing this again?

...oh yeah! To remind ourselves how good this year's team is!

The 2016 Marlins have gone 6-3 thus far in July and at 47-41 find themselves in the thick of the NL Wild card race. It's hard to imagine them not challenging the teams of the recent past for best July record in Miami Marlins history, but let's see what lies ahead for the rest of the month before we crown 'em.

  • Three in St. Louis vs. the Cardinals, July 15th-17th.
  • Four in Philadelphia vs. the Phillies, July 18th-21st.
  • Three in Miami vs. the Mets, July 22nd-24th.
  • Three in Miami vs. the Phillies, July 25th-27th.
  • Four in Miami vs. the Cardinals, July 28th-31st.
By any measure, this is a huge stretch for the Marlins, playing two of the four current direct competitors for the National League wild card spots. And of course the Phillies, who I'm sure would like nothing more than to play spoiler after their season has gone into the tank like it has. Given that certain elements of their offense (Bour, Gordon) are due back in short order, and with the likely addition of another useful arm to the rotation, there is no reason to believe the Marlins can't hold their ground and come out of July with their fourth straight month over .500.

Last year at this point the Fish were 13 games under .500. This is not a perfect team by any stretch of the imagination, but you need only think of the recent past as a reminder of how far the 2016 Marlins have come, and where they might yet go from here.

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