2003 – Game 7 World Series victory over Yankees
The 2003 Florida Marlins, a wild card team, upset the heavily-favored New York Yankees in six games to win their second World Series championship.
The 2003 World Series (also known as the Centennial World Series) was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Florida Marlins and the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees; the Marlins upset the heavily-favored Yankees, four games to two. The series was played from October 18 to 25, 2003. This was the Marlins' second World Series championship win, having won their first in 1997.
Quick Facts
- Manager
- Jack McKeon
- Franchise significance
- Second World Series championship in club history (first was 1997)
Lore & Background
The Marlins started the season 16–22 when they fired manager Jeff Torborg and hired McKeon, who had been retired from baseball for over two years. They went 75–49 under McKeon to win the wild card. At 72, McKeon would become the oldest manager to win a World Series. They lost the first game of the National League Division Series to the San Francisco Giants, but came back to win the final three. After going down three games to one to the Cubs in the National League Championship Series, they rallied to win the final three games. In the World Series, the Marlins put up their young roster with a $54 million payroll up against the storied Yankees and their $164 million payroll.
Reader's Guide
The Yankees had been awarded home-field advantage for this World Series, because the AL won the 2003 All-Star game. Game 1: Brad Penny, Dontrelle Willis, and Ugueth Urbina held New York to two runs; Juan Pierre drove in two runs with a single in the fifth. Game 2: Andy Pettitte allowed only one unearned run in 8⅓ innings; Hideki Matsui hit a three-run home run. Game 3: Josh Beckett struck out ten through seven innings; Bernie Williams hit a three-run home run in the ninth. Game 4: Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the first; Carl Pavano held the Yankees to one run through eight innings; the game went to extra innings and ended with a walk-off solo home run by Álex González in the twelfth.
Did You Know?
- This was the most recent Series in which the losing team outscored the winning team until 2025; the Yankees lost, despite outscoring the Marlins 21–17 in the Series.
- The Marlins would not return to the postseason until 2020.
- By losing the series, the Yankees became the first team to lose two World Series to post-1960 expansion teams; losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Marlins in 2003.
- It was the 100th anniversary of the World Series, but only the 99th event due to a strike cancelling the 1994 World Series and the boycott of the 1904 World Series.
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