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Throughout the year, Fish Stripes will be running retrospectives remembering aspects of the 1997 World Series Champion Florida Marlins, in honor of their 20th anniversary.
It’s only fitting that we kick things off with two of the most important pieces of that team, fearsome slugger Gary Sheffield and the savvy and sage Jim Leyland. Below is a video of a phone interview with Sheffield conducted by Harold Reynolds and Matt Vasgersian of MLB Network, ahead of a Jim Leyland documentary slated to air tonight. Sheffield talks about how Leyland was as a coach and his expectations for Sheffield once the former had arrived in Florida. He also touches on his Hall of Fame thoughts and takes a left turn near the end of the interview talking about his work with Tim Tebow (which I wasn’t aware of). It’s a fun conversation and I’m sure will offer up some nostalgia for long-time Fish fans.
The documentary “Jim Leyland: A Life in Baseball,” will debut tonight at 6pm PT/9pm ET on the MLB Network.