The Miami Marlins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Miami, Florida. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season,[1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[2] The Marlins have used 17 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 27 seasons. Since the Marlins' first season in 1993, the 17 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 12 wins and 14 losses with two no-decisions. Notably, no Marlins Opening Day starter received a no-decision until the team's 24th season in 2016.[3][4][5] No-decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.[6]
Nine Marlins pitchers have started on two or more Opening Days.[3] Those nine are Charlie Hough, Kevin Brown, Alex Fernandez, Ryan Dempster, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, and José Ureña.[3] Beckett and Johnson hold the record for most Opening Day starts as a Marlin, with three appearances each, from 2003 to 2005 for Beckett and 2010 to 2012 for Johnson.[3] When playing at their original home field, the venue now known as Hard Rock Stadium, the Marlins had a record of nine wins and five losses (9–5).[3] At their current home of Marlins Park, Opening Day pitchers have a record of 1–5 with one no-decision.[3] In the franchise's history, the Marlins have only played Opening Day games at another team's home stadium eight times.[3] As the away team, Marlins' starting pitchers have an Opening Day record of 1–6 with one no-decision.[3]
The longest ever Opening Day winning streak for Marlins starting pitchers is four years, when Florida won from 1997 to 2000 under starting pitchers Kevin Brown (1997), Liván Hernández (1998), and Alex Fernandez (1999 and 2000).[3] This streak was sandwiched by the Marlins' two longest Opening Day losing streaks for starting pitchers, each at three losses. The first was in 1994, 1995, and 1996 under starting pitchers Charlie Hough (1994), John Burkett (1995), and Kevin Brown (1996); the second was in 2001, 2002, and 2003 under Ryan Dempster (2001 and 2002) and Josh Beckett (2003)[3] The Marlins have won the World Series twice, in 1997 and 2003, and in those seasons, their starting pitchers had one win and one loss on Opening Day.[3]
Key
| Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Marlins season. |
| W | Win |
| L | Loss |
| ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Marlins won game |
| ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Marlins lost game |
| Pitcher (#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Marlins |
| * | Advanced to the post-season |
| † | World Series Champions |