| 1998 Florida Marlins | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Pro Player Stadium | |
| City | Miami Gardens, Florida | |
| Record | 54–108 (.333) | |
| Divisional place | 5th | |
| Owners | Wayne Huizenga | |
| General managers | Dave Dombrowski | |
| Managers | Jim Leyland | |
| Television | Sports Channel Florida WBFS-TV (Joe Angel, Dave O'Brien, Tommy Hutton, Jay Randolph) | |
| Radio | WQAM (Joe Angel, Dave O'Brien, Jon Sciambi) WQBA (Spanish) (Felo Ramírez, Manolo Alvarez) | |
| ||
The Florida Marlins' 1998 season was the sixth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the National League. It would begin with the team attempting to defend their World Series Champion title, having won the title in 1997. Their manager was Jim Leyland. They played home games at Pro Player Stadium, and finished with a record of 54–108, the worst record in all of baseball. The team is notable for having arguably the biggest fire sale in sports history, auctioning off nearly all of their most notable players. The 1998 Marlins were the first defending World Series champions to finish last in their division and the first to lose 100 games. To make matters more embarrassing, their record that season was worst than both of that year's expansion teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also finished last in their own divisions (the AL East and NL West respectively), were nine and eleven games better than the Marlins, at 63–99 and 65-97 respectively.
The Marlins won on opening day against the Chicago Cubs, but it would be the only time they were over .500 all season. They promptly lost 11 straight, the most consecutive losses by a reigning champion. By the end of May, they were 17–38, 21 games under .500, and their season was all but over. The Marlins would finish 0–9 against three teams: Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Milwaukee. The 1998 Marlins are the most recent team to finish winless against three separate opponents.