Florida Marlins: Top 10 Baseball Moments at Sun Life Stadium

In a short 19 years of existence the Florida Marlins have managed to win two World Series, both after clinching a wild card berth. They're the team that everyone underestimates every year, but towards the end of the season they are always in the thick of things.

The Marlins are notorious for not keeping their stars and trying to win by bringing up players out of their farm system.

Although a chapter of their franchise is coming to an end as they played their final game at Sun Life stadium Wednesday. The Marlins are now moving to a new ballpark and are switching to the Miami Marlins.

Here are the top 10 baseball moments to take place at the stadium the Marlins have called home over the last 19 years. 

10. Marlins' First Game Ever

The Florida Marlins played their first regular season game ever April 5, 1993 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They scored the first four runs of the game and ended up winning 6-3.

The starting pitchers were Charlie Hough for Florida and Orel Hershiser for the Dodgers. It was in front of a crowd of 42,334 fans and lasted just over two and a half hours.

The Marlins started their franchise off on a good note and hopefully they can continue when the new stadium opens up.

9. Luis Castillo Extends Hitting Streak to 35 Games

Marlins second basemen Luis Castillo extended his hitting streak to 35 games June 21, 2002. What made the streak most impressive is the way Castillo kept the streak alive with 18 infield hits.

Castillo finished the 2002 season with a .305 batting average, 185 hits, 86 runs and 48 stolen bases.

The streak came to an end on June 22, 2002 against the Detroit Tigers with Mark Redman pitching.

The streak is the longest in Florida Marlins history and at the time was tied for the 11th longest in baseball history.

8. Ken Griffey Jr Becomes the Sixth Member of the 600 Home Run Club

It was a 3-1 pitch and Ken Griffey Jr. blasted a deep home run down the right field line off of Marlins pitcher Mark Hendrickson. With that hit he became just the sixth player ever to hit 600 home runs in a career, joining a pretty elite group.

Griffey is widely considered one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game and many believe if he stayed healthy he would have challenged the all-time home run record. One thing we can all agree on is that he had the sweetest swing of all-time.

Griffey finished his career with 2,781 hits, 1,662 runs scored, 630 home runs and a .284 batting average.

The Reds ended up winning the game as well, 9-4.

7. Cody Ross Hits Three Home Runs in One Game

September 11, 2006 Cody Ross became the first Marlins player to ever hit three home runs in one game.

The first came in the first inning and was a three-run shot. The second was a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth and the third came in the seventh and was another two-run bomb.

Ross finished the game with four hits, three home runs and seven RBIs.

The Marlins ended up pounding the New York Mets 16-5.

6. Pudge Holds on to the Ball After Being Trucked by J.T. Snow

It was game 4 of the 2003 NLDS against the San Fransisco Giants. It was the top of the ninth with the Marlins leading 7-6, one out away from advancing to the National league Championship. Jeffrey Hammond singled to right field, J.T. who was on second base raced home and tried to tie the game up.

Jeff Conine made a strong throw from right field, Ivan Rodriguez caught it, got ran over by Snow and held on.

Just like that the Marlins won the game and the series.

The Marlins eventually ended up beating the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS and then the New York Yankees to win the 2003 world series.

You can see the play here.

5. Andres Galarraga Hits the Longest Home Run Ever at Sun Life

I really wish I had a video of this shot that Andres Galarraga hit on May 31, 1997.

It happened in the fourth inning and was a grand slam off Marlins pitcher Kevin Brown. It's estimated that the ball traveled 529 feet, making it by far the longest home run at the stadium. It didn't leave the yard but got out in a hurry. It didn't just barely hit upper deck, it climbed half way up the upper deck seats that are covered in a tarp.

This was a mammoth shot that we could possibly never see again, especially in a live MLB game.

If you ever attend an event at Sun Life, take a look half way up the upper deck an imagine a ball traveling that far from home plate.

4. Jeff Conine Receives Standing Ovation in 2003

This list wouldn't be right without Mr. Marlin himself somewhere on the list.

Jeff Conine was on this franchise from day one but was traded to Kansas City in 1998. He went on to play for the Baltimore Orioles for four and a half seasons.

On September 1 2003, he was traded back to Florida for minor leaguers Denny Bautista and Don Levinski.

During his first at bat, Conine received a warm standing ovation as he filled in for injured third baseman Mike Lowell. Conine ended up going 1-3 with one RBI and the Marlins won the game 5-2 over the Montreal Expos.

That season the Marlins ended up winning the world series for a second time.

Conine is the only Marlins player to appear on the opening day roster of the inaugural season, the 1997 world series team and the 2003 world series team. 

3. Al Leiter Pitches a No Hitter

May 11, 1996 Al Leiter became the first Marlins pitcher ever to throw a no hitter. It came against the Colorado Rockies in a 11-0 victory.

Since then there have been three more no hitters by Marlins pitchers thrown but he remains the only left handed pitcher to do so.

He struck out eight batters and only walked two in the appearance.

2. Roy Halladay Perfect Game

This may not make many Marlins fans happy but it is one of the most rarest feats in sports history and it took place in Sun Life stadium.

May 29, 2010 Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in baseball history in what would end up being one of the best pitched games of the year. Halladay went the entire game and struck out 11 batters out of the 27 he faced.

What made the game even better was that Josh Johnson didn't pitch too shabby either, as he went seven innings, gave up seven hits, no runs and struck out six.

Unfortunately only 25,086 people were actually in attendance to witness history. 

1. Edgar Renteria's Walk-off Single to Win the 1997 World Series

How could this not be No. 1?

October 26, 1997, the Marlins were playing a game seven world series game against the Cleveland Indians. The Marlins were in the bottom of the 11th inning, tied 2-2.

There were two outs, Craig Counsell was on third base with Edgar Renteria up to bat. The count was 0-1 with Indians pitcher Charles Nagy pitching.

Renteria hits the ball right between the short stop and second baseman as the Marlins won their first World Series in franchise history. It was just their fifth year of existence. 

This will always be the first moment that comes to mind when I think of baseball at Joe Robbie/Sun Life stadium.