In 1,434 games over 14 seasons, Garciaparra posted a .313 batting average (1,747-for-5,586) with 927 runs, 370 doubles, 52 triples, 229 home runs, 936 RBI, 95 stolen bases, 403 bases on balls, .361 on-base percentage, and .521 slugging percentage. He finished his career with an overall .975 fielding percentage. In 32 postseason games, he was productive, batting .321 (36-for-112) with seven home runs and 24 RBI.^[27]

On Wednesday, February 5, 2014, it was announced that Garciaparra would be inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, along with former pitchers Pedro Martínez and Roger Clemens, as well as longtime radio announcer Joe Castiglione.^[31]

Jeffrey Guy Conine (/ˈkoʊnaɪn/; born June 27, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder / first baseman and current assistant baseball coach at Florida International University, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons, with six teams.^[1] An inaugural member of the Florida Marlins who was with the franchise for both of its World Series titles, he was nicknamed Mr. Marlin for his significant history with the club.^[2]

Conine was born in Tacoma, Washington, played baseball at UCLA, and was drafted in the 58th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft by the Kansas City Royals. After two cup of coffee stints with the Royals, Conine was selected by the Marlins in the 1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft. Becoming the team’s first star, he played five seasons with the Marlins, earning the most valuable player award at the 1995 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and was part of the World Series-winning team in 1997.

A victim of a fire sale after the 1997 season, Conine was traded back to the Royals and then to the Baltimore Orioles. Traded back to the Marlins in 2003, he helped the team win a second World Series title. He remained with the team until 2005, returning to the Orioles as a free agent. He became a journeyman outfielder near the end of his career, signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Marlins in 2008.

Early career[edit]

Conine played college baseball at UCLA, where he was originally a relief pitcher.^[3] In the summer of 1986, he won a Cape Cod Baseball League title with the Orleans Cardinals.^[4] He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 58th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft as a first baseman.^[5] Prior to the draft, Conine was considered a mediocre pitching prospect with a high earned run average and a “decent” slider.^[3] He only had one at-bat as a member of the Bruins, a hit by a pitch. A recommendation by Royals scout and former UCLA pitching coach Guy Hansen led Conine to be drafted, when Hansen told Royals general manager John Schuerholz that the best hitter on UCLA’s team “was a pitcher”.^[3] After three minor league seasons, in which Conine batted .290 with 39 home runs and 214 runs batted in, he joined the Royals as a September call-up in 1990. He returned to the minors for two more seasons, and learned to play the outfield with the Omaha Royals before returning to the majors late in the 1992 season.

Professional baseball career[edit]

Florida Marlins (1993–1997)[edit]

Conine was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft, and converted into a full-time left fielder. Though the Marlins narrowly avoided 100 losses, Conine emerged as a star. He went four-for-four in his first game as a Marlin in a 6–3 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[6] Conine played the full 162 game schedule in left field his rookie season. He batted .292 with 12 home runs and 79 RBIs to earn a third-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year balloting.^[1]

The following season, Conine was batting .313 with 13 home runs and 64 runs batted at mid-season and earned his first All-Star selection. He finished the strike shortened 1994 season with a career high .319 batting average, 18 home runs and 82 RBIs.^[1] During the strike, Conine returned to the Marlins’ Instructional League affiliate in Brevard County, Florida, to learn third base.^[7]

The experiment never materialized, and Conine returned to left field once play resumed in 1995. He batted .340 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs in June to earn National League Player of the Month honors and his second consecutive All-Star nod. In his only career All-Star Game at-bat, he hit a go-ahead pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning and won the MVP award.^[8] For the season, he finished fourth in the league with a career-high 105 RBIs with a .302 batting average and 25 home runs. In 1996, Conine had 26 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a .293 batting average.^[1]

1997 World Series Champions[edit]

Newly hired Marlins manager Jim Leyland shifted Conine back to first base in 1997, as the club had acquired free agent Moisés Alou to play left field. The Marlins finished second to the Atlanta Braves in the National League East by nine games, winning the wild card with a 92–70 record. After sweeping the San Francisco Giants in the 1997 National League Division Series,^[9] the Marlins defeated their division rival Braves in the 1997 National League Championship Series, four games to two. Conine’s seventh inning single provided the game-winning RBI in game five of the series.^[10]

The Marlins beat Cleveland in a seven-game World Series to break the 1969 New York Mets’ record as the youngest expansion franchise to ever win a World Series title. Conine batted .214 with no home runs, three RBIs and five runs scored in his first postseason. Immediately after winning the World Series, Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga dismantled his club, claiming financial losses despite having won the World Series. As part of the “fire sale” of his franchise’s best players, Conine was shipped back to the Kansas City Royals for minor league pitcher Blaine Mull. At the time of his departure, Conine held the franchise records for hits, RBIs and games played.^[11]