Our Noticias, 4/17/20: Dickerson, Rodríguez contribute to massive meals donation

Taking a bite out of childhood hunger

All 30 MLB teams have joined forces to fundraise on behalf of children in the United States and Canada who may be struggling to get consistent meals during coronavirus-related school closures. In partnership with iconic singer-songwriter Garth Brooks, the league announced Thursday a contribution of $937,100 that will be used to provide more than four million meals.

Current Marlins Corey Dickerson and Sean Rodríguez both participated, as did former members of the club Steve Cishek, Nathan Eovaldi, Brad Hand, Neil Walker and Nick Wittgren.

Help “stop the spread” with Marlins scarf

FOCO

For many people, shopping for Marlins merchandise is understandably the furthest thing from our minds. But if any item would be appropriate for our current societal conditions, it’s this gaiter scarf from FOCO. Public health officials recommend using a face covering whenever in close proximity to others in public spaces, and this one is reusable.

Scarves are available for all 30 MLB teams, priced at $13 plus shipping.

MLB Dream Bracket rosters announced

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like the most original idea: selecting the best possible 26-man roster in the history of each franchise. But Major League Baseball is taking it several steps further, using Out of the Park Baseball 21 to simulate best-of-seven matchups between them. Rosters of Negro Leagues stars and active players ages 25 and under are included to create a balanced field of 32 participants.

The Marlins are at a disadvantage because their existence has been relatively short by MLB standards. They have the No. 11 seed on the National League side of the bracket with a roster of the following players:

In the Round of 32, they will face off against the No. 6 seed Braves. Results will be posted to MLB.com Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET.

Walk-off links

• Coming down to the wire! You have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday to vote for players on our 2020 Marlins Hall of Fame ballot. Thank you to all the fans who have already participated.

• Ryne Stanek continues to struggle in the MLB The Show Players League. He lost all four games Thursday night, including the finale to ex-teammate Blake Snell. Stanek has a 2-10 overall record, leaving him hardly any margin for error to qualify for the postseason. The Marlins right-hander will be back in action on Sunday.
• In critiquing managerial tactics from mid-1990s World Series, Ben Clemens of FanGraphs points out the absurdity of Liván Hernández’s Game 5 performance in 1997. The Cuban right-hander worked into the ninth inning—facing 38 total batters, beginning his fifth trip through the Indians lineup—despite mediocre results. It’s difficult to imagine that ever happening again, especially under such high-stakes circumstances.
• The Miami Marlins Foundation surprised senior citizens at several Sedano’s locations by covering the costs of their groceries, according to Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald.
• Demetrius Sims was selected by MLive as one of the top five athletes from Ann Arbor Hurron high school this millennium. Before his pro career began, Sims also played football and basketball at the varsity level. In 2019, he was among the most productive all-around players in the Marlins farm system, splitting his regular season between Low-A Clinton and High-A Jupiter.
• While affiliated North American professional baseball is in the midst of a transaction freeze, that doesn’t apply to the independent Atlantic League, where left-hander Jeff Kinley has re-signed with the Somerset Patriots. Kinley was the Marlins’ 28th-round draft pick in 2015 and remained with the organization until being released last July.
• Twitter user @HippoVaughn has posted four original Marlins uniform designs (shown below) that ditch the “Miami Blue” from the recent rebrand in favor of teal. What do you think?

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