This offseason, Fish Stripes has been counting down every player to appear with the franchise through their first 28 seasons of major league play.
There’s 630 players in the pantheon of Florida and Miami Marlins history, and we’ve already looked at 581 of them since the end of the 2020 season. We’re going to finish the rest of them by Opening Day eve.
The final 128 players in this series all totaled 800 or more plate appearances and/or batters faced. Players are ordered in ascending bWAR divided by PA/BF. Today’s pair finished a significant bit above replacement, and a less significant bit above average.
49. Ryan Webb
Ryan Webb is a six-foot-six right-handed pitcher from Clearwater, Florida. In 2004, he was a fourth round choice of the Oakland Athletics out of Clearwater Central Catholic HS.
In July 2009, the A’s traded Webb with minor leaguer Craig Italiano to the San Diego Padres for Scott Hairston and player to be named later Sean Gallagher. It was with the Padres for whom he made his major league debut not that long afterwards. He appeared in 28 games in relief for the Friars after the trade, and another 54 the following season. He racked up a 3.19 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 84 2⁄3 innings over the two campaigns.
After the 2010 season, the Pads traded Webb with Edward Mujica (#150) to the Marlins for Cameron Maybin (#43). According to Statcast, Webb was reliant on a 95 MPH sinking fastball significantly over half the time, with a slider and a changeup to complement it.
Never utilized as a closer, Webb averaged over 60 games per campaign in his three seasons for the Marlins, all in relief. He was at his best in 2013, when he set career-bests with a 1.21 WHIP and a 2.91 ERA. He went 8-13 with a 3.34 ERA in 184 contests for the Marlins, with 129 whiffs in 191 1⁄3 innings, and a 1.34 WHIP.
On June 16, 2012, Webb had his best contest with the Marlins, going by his WPA. He earned a win after he pitched the 12th through the 14th innings of a 15-frame, 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. Webb kept the Rays scoreless on two hits and a walk, collecting one strikeout.
Following the 2013 season, Webb signed with the Baltimore Orioles through free agency, and also later pitched at baseball’s top level with the Cleveland Indians and with the Rays.
48. Juan Pierre
Juan Pierre is a left-handed outfielder from Mobile, Alabama. In 1995, he went in the 30th round of the draft to the Seattle Mariners out of high school. Subsequently, he was taken in the 48th round of the 1996 draft by the Mariners out of Galveston College and finally in the 13th round in 1998 by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of South Carolina.
Going into the 2000 season, Pierre was ranked by Baseball America as the Rockies number five overall prospect, and made his major league debut with them in 51 games that season. He hit .310, and despite the very small sample size (for an “official” rookie season), he placed sixth in the season-ending National League Rookie of the Year Award vote.
Although Pierre only played three seasons with the Marlins, Pierre is ranked their on their all-time stolen bases list, with 190. In addition to his willingness to swipe a base (he also led the league each season with Florida, with a total of 51 times caught stealing), Pierre also displayed a lot of patience at the dish. He drew 154 walks against 142 strikeouts during his tenure with the Marlins, leading the National League each season in AB/SO.
Pierre appeared in every game the Marlins played between 2003 and 2005, leading the National League with 221 hits and 12 triples in 2004. In the second game of the 2003 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants, Pierre went four-for-five with a double and three RBI in a 9-5 victory, Florida’s first ever postseason win.
Pierre slashed a .303/.354/.378 line with six homers in his first 486 games for the Marlins. After the completion of the 2005 season, they sent him to the Chicago Cubs for Sergio Mitre (#92), Ricky Nolasco (#72), and Renyel Pinto (#42). After one year with the Cubs, he played three with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a pair with the Chicago White Sox, and one with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2013, he returned for an encore with Miami.
Pierre hit .247/.284/.305 in his final major league season, and stole 23 bases in 29 attempts at the age of 35. He retired with a total of 614 career stolen bases to his credit, 18th all-time. After officially announcing his retirement in 2015, Pierre received zero Hall of Fame votes in his first season of eligibility. In 2019, he served with the Marlins as their Minor League Outfield Coordinator.
Thanks for reading. Check back here tomorrow for two more players on the road to the top.