Philly Front Office

For this week’s Phillies Series Preview, we look into the Miami Marlins to see who is their best hitter ever.

Friday, May 1 at 7:10p – Zack Wheeler vs Eury Perez (R)
Saturday, May 2 at 4:10p – TBD vs Max Meyer (R)
Sunday, May 3 at 1:40p – TBD vs Chris Paddack (R)

LoanDepot Park – Miami, FL

For many people, the first Marlins hitter they think of is Miguel Cabrera. While either Miggy or Ichiro Suzuki are the best to ever put on a Marlins uniform, they ended up making all their hitting history in other cities. Granted, it’s the destiny of all good Marlins to eventually leave the Marlins (or in Ichiro’s case, to just moonlight there), but someone has to be the best hitter, right? Looking at the statistics, it really comes down to two players: Giancarlo Stanton and Hanley Ramirez.

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The Case for Stanton

The man formerly known as Mike Stanton joined the Marlins in those halcyon NL East outfield prospect days that also included Bryce Harper, Jason Heyward, and Domonic Brown. The year was 2010 and the big guy hit 22 HRs in 100 games. It would be the fewest he would hit in any of his 8 years with the Marlins, including 2015 when he only played in 74 games.

While he was always good for around 30 dingers in roughly 120 games, 2014 and 2017 were the seasons where he remained healthy and he put on a show. 2014 resulted in a runner-up MVP campaign thanks to his league leading 37 HRs, 6.5 WAR, .555 slugging percentage, and 299 total bases. He also hit .288. Unfortunately for Stanton, that would be the season Clayton Kershaw had a 1.77 ERA. In 2017, Stanton leveled up with 59 HRs, 132 RBI, and 8.1 WAR, narrowly (and I mean narrowly, 2 points in what I have to imagine was the closest MVP vote in history) beating Joey Votto of the Reds for MVP. Statistically, this was the best season in Marlins history. As they are wont to do, the Marlins traded Stanton to NY that offseason ending his time with the Fish.

For his career, Stanton is the Marlins all-time leader in WAR (35.9), Slugging (.554), total bases (1983), HRs (267), RBI (672), and XBH (479). In case you are wondering, and I know you are, he is 3rd in Marlins history for OPS behind Gary Sheffield (.970 to .914). As for Sheffield, his 6 seasons in Miami were impressive and the most he ever played for one team, but he only ended up playing 558 games.

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The Case for Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez came to Miami as the big ticket prospect in the Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell trade to the Red Sox. After getting 2 MLB at-bats in Boston, Ramirez was officially a rookie for the Marlins in 2006. He won Rookie of the Year thanks to a 4.9 WAR season with a .292 average, 46 doubles, 11 triples, 17 dingers, and 51 stolen bases. He did everything, everything except play defense.

Why do I bring up the defense? Because it may have cost him some hardware. In 2007, Jimmy Rollins won MVP thanks to his bravado and a 20-20-20-20 season playing excellent defense for the Phillies. Ramirez would finish 10th. Hanely though had an excellent offensive season with 29 HRs, 48 doubles, 51 steals, and damn near won the batting title at .332 (Matt Holiday won it at .340). His 7.2 oWAR was near the top of the league. However, his defense was so bad, it dropped him down to 4.4. We’ll come back to this. His best Marlins season came in 2009 when he finished runner up for MVP behind a monster Albert Pujols season. Ramirez did win the batting title that season though at .342.

For his career, his 2008 and 2009 seasons rank as the 2nd and 3rd best seasons by a Marlins hitter ever in terms of WAR, only behind Stanton’s MVP 2017 year. However, those two and 2007 are all better than Stanton’s if you take out the defense (Giancarlo had a cannon and could actually move around back then). His 125 runs scored in 2007 and 2008 are Marlins single season records. His .300 Batting Average as a Marlin is 3rd in team history while his OBP is also 3rd (.374), he is 6th in slugging (.499), 2nd in runs (666), 2nd in hits (1103), 2nd in doubles (232), 2nd in total bases (1831), 2nd in stolen bases (230), and 3rd in HRs (148).

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Verdict

The two are a surprisingly easy comparison in total numbers. Stanton played one more season in Miami than Ramirez, but their games played are a close 986 to 943 in favor of Stanton but Hanley had 4150 plate appearances to Stanton’s 4120. While Stanton leads the Marlins in several power hitting categories, Ramirez only leads in one and it will surprise you: offensive WAR. His Marlins career 34.6 oWAR is ahead of Stanton’s 30.6. That means Hanley lost 7.6 WAR due to bad defense while Stanton gained 5.3. Should the difference in who is the best Marlins hitter of all time come down to defense???

Yes, Giancarlo Stanton had the greatest Marlins season of all time when he won the 2017 MVP and has all the better power numbers, but Hanley Ramirez consistently performed in EVERY hitting category. They are about as close as could possibly be. Maybe we should just give it to Sheffield?

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty

Stats: Baseball Reference