April 6, 2005: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Heading down to Florida in April sounded like a great idea for the 2005 Ballpark Tour. Mike and I started to plan our trip in early December. What better way to ring in the 2005 season than spending time along Baseball’s Sun Belt?  Our first stop was Dolphins Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins). Since they played their first game on March 31, 1993, the Marlins have experienced unprecedented success for an expansion franchise, winning the World Series in 1997 and 2003. Even with these accomplishments the organization has experienced little fan support during their time in South Florida. Attending a Marlins game in Dolphins Stadium (Problem #1: a baseball franchise playing in a ballpark named after a football team) gave me firsthand knowledge of what the game of baseball and the Marlins mean to the people of South Florida. [Read more…]