MIAMI -- In honor of Independence Day, I thought it would be cool to do an all-time American-born lineup of the best players in Marlins history. I took into account stats, accolades and historical context when determining who was chosen.
Catcher: Charles Johnson (Fort Pierce, Fla.)
Though J.T. Realmuto had a higher Baseball-Reference WAR, Johnson was a native Floridian who attended the University of Miami and became the organization’s first Draft pick in 1992. Johnson, who still performs community service in South Florida with the Marlins, was a two-time National League All-Star and captured four consecutive Gold Glove Awards between 1995-98. Most importantly, he was a member of the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins team.
First Base: Jeff Conine (Tacoma, Wash.)
“Mr. Marlin” split his time at first and the outfield during his two stints spanning eight seasons with the organization. An original Marlin and a member of both the 1997 and 2003 World Series clubs, Conine was a finalist for ‘93 NL Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, garnering MVP honors at the ‘95 Midsummer Classic. He ranks second in games played (1,014 games) in franchise history.
Second Base: Dan Uggla (Louisville, Ky.)
Uggla went from a Rule 5 Draft pick to the seventh-highest bWAR in franchise history during his five seasons from 2006-10. Uggla, who teamed up with Hanley Ramirez for one of the most memorable Marlins double-play tandems, made two All-Star teams, won the ‘10 Silver Slugger Award and was a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year in ‘06. Uggla was the first player in baseball history to be selected for the All-Star Game in the same season in which he had been a Rule 5 pick.
Shortstop: Kurt Abbott (Zanesville, Ohio)
The best shortstops in franchise history -- Ramirez (Dominican Republic), Alex Gonzalez (Venezuela) and Edgar Renteria (Colombia) -- aren’t American. Abbott was a reserve on the 1997 World Series team, but two years earlier, he hit 17 home runs and drove in 60 runs. It is worth noting that Xavier Edwards, who moved back to second base in 2025, recorded the franchise’s second cycle while playing short in ‘24.
Third Base: Mike Lowell (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Lowell, who attended nearby Coral Gables High, was a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glover and a Silver Slugger during his seven-year tenure in South Florida. The 2003 World Series champion had a 14.2 bWAR with the Marlins -- eighth-highest in franchise history. His best season with the team came in '03, when he belted 32 home runs and drove in 105 runs in 130 games despite missing the final month of the regular season with a broken bone in his left hand.
Outfield: Giancarlo Stanton (Panorama City, Calif.), Gary Sheffield (Tampa, Fla.), Cliff Floyd (Chicago, Ill.)
Stanton is the only NL MVP in Marlins history and leads the way in team bWAR (35.8). After being the club's second-round pick in the 2007 Draft, he made his Major League debut three years later at the age of 20. Over his eight seasons, the slugger crushed the most homers (267), produced the most RBIs (672), set the single-season home run record (59) and stands atop multiple other categories in franchise history. Stanton also won the 2016 Home Run Derby in San Diego.
Sheffield, who barely missed out on election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility in 2024, was part of both the inaugural 1993 Marlins and the ‘97 World Series roster through his six seasons. He was a three-time All-Star and a ‘96 Silver Slugger, when he led the NL in on-base percentage, OPS and OPS+, Sheffield had one of the most infamous batting stances of the 1990s.
Floyd had the sixth-highest bWAR (16.9) in franchise history during his six seasons (1997-2002). Though he appeared in 61 games for the ‘97 World Series champion Marlins, he wasn’t a key figure. Floyd’s best season in the teal pinstripes came in 2001, when he crushed 31 homers and 103 RBIs in his lone All-Star campaign.