Ticket Stub #14 – Marlins vs. Reds – 04/04/1997
Pro Player Stadium – Miami, FL
Reds 9 – Marlins 7
This was game 4 for the Marlins’ 1997 season, and is the closest I have ever gotten to see a game on Opening Day. Who would have thought that just a few months later the Marlins would be celebrating a World Series championship???
What stood out most in this game was the amazingly talented offensive line-ups each of these teams had. The Reds were stacked with players like Deion Sanders, Ruben Sierra, Reggie Sanders, Barry Larkin, and Hal Morris. The Marlins didn’t have a soft line-up either. The roster contained Gary Sheffield, Moises Alou, Bobby Bonilla, Devon White, and Jeff Conine. This was also the first game I ever saw Edgar Renteria play in live and he quickly became and still is one of my favorite Florida Marlins of all-time.
The biggest impression left on me after seeing this game was the obviuos talent of Reggie Sanders. Sanders had a hell of a night going 3-for-4 with 1 home run and 6 RBI. This is easily one of the best offensive performances I have witnessed during a live baseball game.
Cincinnati Reds | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | NOTES |
Sanders | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.529 | |
Greene | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.286 | |
Larkin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.100 | |
Sanders | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0.471 | HR |
Morris | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.333 | |
Sierra | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.313 | |
Shaw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Boone | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.111 | |
Tabuensee | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.400 | |
Bones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Branson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Jarvis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Timmons | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | |
Mercker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Harris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Service | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Owens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Florida Marlins | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | NOTES |
Castillo | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.421 | |
Renteria | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.235 | SB |
Sheffield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.167 | |
Bonilla | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | |
Eisenreich | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Hutton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Helling | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Cangelosi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | |
White | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.357 | |
Conine | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.600 | |
Johnson | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.286 | |
Rapp | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 | |
Heredia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | |
Alou | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.462 |
Hall of Famers in this game – Barry Larkin(???) & Gary Sheffield(???)
I’m not entirely convinced that Sheffield will be in the Hall, he’s got the numbers, but he seemed to fly under the radar for a lot of years. I never paid too much attention to him until 97, and I of course watched him in Atlanta.
Barry Larkin though is a Hall of Famer. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went on his first ballot, but I doubt it’ll happen. Larkin’s career happened in the middle of the transition of middle infielders into power hitters. I hope the mold of today’s middle infielders doesn’t hurt hic chances for the Hall.