Dolphins tank past Marlins, own lowest winning percentage in Miami sports this decade

Miami professional sports teams began the 2010s with a bang. The Heat built a mini-dynasty around three superstars, racking up four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and clinching two titles. In 2012, the Dolphins seemingly found their long-term franchise quarterback by drafting Ryan Tannehill. Even the Marlins secured funding for their retractable roof ballpark in Little Havana, promising the community that new revenue streams would fuel a sustainable contender.

In reality, outside of the LeBron/D-Wade/Bosh triumphs, it’s been an infuriating decade for local fans.

Nationally, the Fish are the market’s biggest laughingstock. They are the only South Florida franchise to miss the postseason in all 10 years, developing several of their sport’s best individual players, only to trade them away for less established talent. And that’s without delving into any of the off-the-field crises.

However, with the decade winding down, Sunday was a fascinating inflection point:

Eyeing the NFL Draft’s No. 1 pick next spring, the depleted Dolphins dropped to an 0-5 record in 2019 with a dramatic loss Sunday afternoon to the Washington Redskins.

Tannehill—traded over the offseason—wasn’t quite who they thought he was, and the front office didn’t exactly put him in a position to succeed through the years, anyway. Overall, the Phins are now 65-84 during the regular season since 2010. By the slimmest of margins, that .436 winning percentage is even worse than the Marlins over the same span (.437).

Meanwhile, the Heat are comfortably above the .500 mark and the NHL’s Florida Panthers are at .440 with a few dozen games remaining before the calendar flips. (While that seems comparable to the Dolphins and Marlins, the Panthers currently have one of their league’s most talented rosters—it’s highly unlikely that they struggle enough through the end of 2019 to “challenge” either of them.)

Unless the Dolphins stun the world and get five or more wins this season, they will remain below the Marlins in 2010-2019 cumulative winning percentage. Both teams are relying heavily on premium draft position to vault them to success in the 2020s.