Baseball Team Players First Game

Last Monday, April 5, the Florida Marlins baseball team played its first regular-season major league game. The contest took place at Joe Robbie Stadium in North Dade, home of the Marlins and the

Miami Dolphins.
The Marlins were victorious, defeating Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 6-3.

Before the game, former New York Yankee star Joe DiMaggio threw out the first pitch.

Marlins manager Rene Lachemann, a former Oakland Athletics coach, said he hoped his team will play "good, fundamental baseball" during the season. "Fundamentals are what win games," Lachemann commented.

The game also provided an opportunity for the sellout crowd of 42,334 to see the Marlins' new mascot, "Taffy."

"Having a ball team here is one of the greatest honors a city can have," observed Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez. "We're honored."

New Times staff writers Steven Almond, Todd Anthony, Tom Austin, Greg Baker, Jim DeFede, Kathy Glasgow, Lynn Kaufman Mitchel, and Kirk Semple contributed to this report.