In 1997, Florida became the fastest-growing World Series title in Marlins history. Founded in 1993, Marlins became the world champion four years after defeating the Cleveland Indians in seven games.
With Puntaren Martinez in the loop, would the Indians have won this final series? It makes sense to think that joining the Expo until he won his first Sai Young Trophy the same year would have written a very different storyline.
Sharing board MLB Network With Point Pedro, John Hart, the general manager of the Indians at the time, wore the triangular colors of the Canadian team, confirming that he could have been able to get his hands on the best pitcher of the moment.
Next year, let’s remember that one of the best gunmen who still played for the Expos today went to Boston.
Hart was an engineer for many years in Cleveland. Under his watch, the Indians won six division titles in ten years, while competing in two World Series.
Today, Hart’s decision not to take action with Expos is considered the worst in Indian history.
But, in his defense, the Indians of the day, like today’s team, are not considered very generous and their leaders manage the offer very tightly.
Hart confirms that he discussed this with Richard Jacobs, the owner at the time, and the latter asked how much Petro’s services would cost in the coming years. The general manager would have replied to him later: it would have been too expensive. This is what would have prevented senior management from taking action.
In 1997, the Indians, along with Oral Hersheiser, Jack McDowell and Jose Mesa, were hoping to support their time ace, Bardolo Colon, in their rotation. Add to that the fact that a young gunner, Jared Wright, caught the attention of the team and was seen as the future of the club.
We can now speculate and say that the dominance of the Indians of that time would have been even longer and richer, but this transaction which never took place will be engraved in the memory of the fans of the team.
Key player Martinez from Point Pedro wanted to laugh, noting that Mike Harkirov, the manager of the Indians at the time, did not pick him up at the start of the 1998 All-Star Games.