# 2003 Florida Marlins season

The 2003 Florida Marlins season was the 11th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the National League. The Marlins were the National League Wild Card winners, the National League champions, and the World Series champions. They defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series in six games to win their second World Series championship. The Marlins became the second team in baseball history to win a World Series championship despite being 10 or more games below .500 (as low as 19–29) at some point in the season; the other team was the 1914 Boston Braves.
This was the last Marlins team to make the postseason until 2020, and last Marlins team to make the postseason in a full season until 2023.

## Offseason

The Marlins pulled off some blockbuster deals during the 2003 off season, the most impressive being that of 10-time Gold Glove winning catcher Iván Rodríguez. They also traded catcher Charles Johnson and outfielder Preston Wilson to the Colorado Rockies for lead-off man Juan Pierre.
* November 16, 2002: Charles Johnson was traded by the Florida Marlins with Vic Darensbourg, Pablo Ozuna, and Preston Wilson to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Pierre, Mike Hampton, and cash (shortly thereafter, Mike Hampton was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Tim Spooneybarger).
* November 12, 2002: Matt Treanor signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins.
* January 8, 2003: Todd Hollandsworth signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins.
* January 28, 2003: Iván Rodríguez signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins.
* February 13, 2003: Al Martin signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins.
* February 15, 2003: Kevin Millar was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Florida Marlins.
* March 28, 2003: Al Martin was released by the Florida Marlins.

## Regular season
### Opening Day starters

* Josh Beckett – SP
* Luis Castillo – 2B
* Juan Encarnación – RF
* Álex González – SS
* Todd Hollandsworth – LF
* Derrek Lee – 1B
* Mike Lowell – 3B
* Juan Pierre – CF
* Iván Rodríguez – C

### Season standings
#### National League East

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Atlanta Braves | 101 | 61 | .623 | — | 55‍–‍26 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Florida Marlins | 91 | 71 | .562 | 10 | 53‍–‍28 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 86 | 76 | .531 | 15 | 49‍–‍32 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Montreal Expos | 83 | 79 | .512 | 18 | 52‍–‍29 | 31‍–‍50 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 95 | .410 | 34½ | 34‍–‍46 | 32‍–‍49 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2003 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 2–5 | 2–4 | 7–2 | 10–9 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 10–9 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 5–14 | 3–3 | 11–4 |
| Atlanta | 5–2 | — | 4–2 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 9–10 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 12–7 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 7–2 | 6–1 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 10–5 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 2–4 | — | 10–7 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 9–7 | 2–4 | 10–6 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 10–8 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 8–9 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 2–7 | 3–3 | 7–10 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 5–12 | 2–4 | 8–10 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 5–4 | 5–11 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 9–7 | 7–5 |
| Colorado | 9–10 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 7–12 | 5–1 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 3–6 | 12–7 | 7–12 | 4–2 | 9–6 |
| Florida | 5–2 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–4 | — | 1–5 | 2–5 | 7–2 | 13–6 | 12–7 | 13–6 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 9–6 |
| Houston | 1–5 | 1–5 | 7–9 | 12–5 | 4–2 | 5–1 | — | 4–2 | 9–8 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 10–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 11–7 |
| Los Angeles | 9–10 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 12–7 | 5–2 | 2–4 | — | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 8–11 | 6–13 | 4–2 | 11–7 |
| Milwaukee | 3–3 | 2–4 | 6–10 | 10–8 | 1–5 | 2–7 | 8–9 | 2–4 | — | 0–6 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 10–7 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 3–13 | 5–7 |
| Montreal | 2–4 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 6–13 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 6–0 | — | 14–5 | 8–11 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 7–0 | 1–5 | 9–9 |
| New York | 2–4 | 8–11 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 7–12 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 3–6 | 5–14 | — | 7–12 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 5–10 |
| Philadelphia | 2–4 | 10–9 | 5–1 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 6–13 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 11–8 | 12–7 | — | 2–4 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 8–7 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–3 | 2–7 | 8–10 | 11–5 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 6–10 | 1–5 | 7–10 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 7–10 | 5–7 |
| San Diego | 10–9 | 1–6 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–12 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 11–8 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 2–4 | — | 5–14 | 2–4 | 8–10 |
| San Francisco | 14–5 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 12–7 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 13–6 | 5–1 | 0–7 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 14–5 | — | 5–1 | 10–8 |
| St. Louis | 3–3 | 2–4 | 9–8 | 7–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 2–4 | 13–3 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 10–7 | 4–2 | 1–5 | — | 10–8 |

### Game log

Legend :
| Marlins win | Marlins loss | Game postponed |
2003 game log (91–71) :
March/April (14–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
1March 31Phillies5–8Millwood (1–0)Beckett (0–1)Mesa (1)37,1370–1L1
2April 2Phillies2–8Wolf (1–0)Pavano (0–1)—10,5340–2L2
3April 3Phillies8–3Redman (1–0)Padilla (0–1)—14,5851–2W1
4April 4@ Braves7–12Hernandez (1–0)Nunez (0–1)Smoltz (1)20,6421–3L1
5April 5@ Braves17–1Beckett (1–1)Maddux (0–2)—23,0812–3W1
6April 6@ Braves4–13Ramirez (1–1)Penny (0–1)—21,2532–4L1
7April 7@ Braves0–3Ortiz (1–1)Pavano (0–2)Smoltz (2)19,3262–5L2
8April 8Mets2–4Leiter (2–0)Redman (1–1)Benitez (3)10,1032–6L3
9April 9Mets3–2Looper (1–0)Stanton (0–1)—10,0523–6W1
10April 10Mets4–3Spooneybarger (1–0)Benitez (0–2)—10,2674–6W2
11April 11Braves7–4Penny (1–1)Ramirez (1–2)Looper (1)12,0455–6W3
12April 12Braves12–5Pavano (1–2)Ortiz (1–2)—25,2036–6W4
13April 13Braves1–7Maddux (1–3)Redman (1–2)Smoltz (3)21,8346–7L1
14April 14@ Phillies2–5Padilla (2–1)Burnett (0–1)Mesa (2)13,6116–8L2
15April 15@ Phillies3–4Silva (2–0)Beckett (1–2)Mesa (3)17,5086–9L3
16April 16@ Phillies3–1Penny (2–1)Myers (0–2)Looper (2)15,1677–9W1
17April 17@ Phillies7–3Pavano (2–2)Millwood (2–1)—13,9688–9W2
18April 18@ Mets3–6Weathers (1–0)Nunez (0–2)Benitez (5)18,5258–10L1
19April 19@ Mets6–5Looper (2–0)Benitez (0–3)—36,4489–10W1
20April 20@ Mets4–7Glavine (3–1)Nunez (0–3)—26,2459–11L1
21April 22Brewers4–2Almanza (1–0)de los Santos (0–1)Looper (3)10,11510–11W1
22April 23Brewers5–4 (12)Almanza (2–0)Nance (0–1)—9,18211–11W2
23April 24Brewers4–2Redman (2–2)Ritchie (1–2)—9,06912–11W3
24April 25Cardinals2–9Tomko (2–2)Burnett (0–2)—12,08112–12L1
25April 26Cardinals5–3Beckett (2–2)Kline (0–3)Looper (4)12,28613–12W1
26April 27Cardinals6–7 (20)Kline (1–3)Pavano (2–3)—10,07513–13L1
27April 28@ Diamondbacks1–7Dessens (3–2)Wayne (0–1)—25,46813–14L2
28April 29@ Diamondbacks7–5Redman (3–2)Kim (1–5)—29,38014–14W1
29April 30@ Diamondbacks3–7Batista (1–2)Pavano (2–4)Mantei (4)24,30614–15L1 :
May (12–16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
30May 1@ Diamondbacks4–3Almanza (3–0)Villarreal (1–2)Looper (5)25,04415–15W1
31May 2@ Astros3–4Stone (2–0)Penny (2–2)Wagner (5)22,65915–16L1
32May 3@ Astros2–5Redding (3–2)Wayne (0–2)Dotel (2)28,18815–17L2
33May 4@ Astros2–5Lidge (3–0)Spooneybarger (1–1)Wagner (6)31,76415–18L3
34May 6Giants2–4Nathan (3–0)Almanza (3–1)Worrell (9)11,70115–19L4
35May 7Giants2–3Moss (5–0)Beckett (2–3)Worrell (10)11,46415–20L5
36May 8Giants2–3Nathan (4–0)Looper (2–1)Worrell (11)13,81215–21L6
37May 9Rockies5–4Looper (3–1)Speier (2–1)—10,27216–21W1
38May 10Rockies4–5Jennings (3–3)Tejera (0–1)Jimenez (8)16,54316–22L1
39May 11Rockies7–2Pavano (3–4)Cook (1–3)—9,20517–22W1
40May 12@ Padres6–1Levrault (1–0)Condrey (1–2)—15,86918–22W2
41May 13@ Padres5–6 (10)Herges (1–0)Looper (3–2)—13,20318–23L1
42May 14@ Padres10–3Willis (1–0)Bynum (0–2)—10,93519–23W1
43May 16@ Dodgers1–2Dreifort (3–3)Almanza (3–2)Gagne (13)47,38319–24L1
44May 17@ Dodgers1–4Perez (3–2)Tejera (0–2)Gagne (14)38,24819–25L2
45May 18@ Dodgers1–2Nomo (5–4)Penny (2–3)Gagne (15)43,77519–26L3
46May 20@ Expos4–6Vazquez (4–2)Willis (1–1)Biddle (13)5,43519–27L4
47May 21@ Expos2–7Vargas (2–1)Pavano (3–5)—5,28219–28L5
48May 22@ Expos2–8Hernandez (4–2)Tejera (0–3)—6,24919–29L6
49May 23@ Reds8–4Phelps (1–0)Austin (2–2)—30,59620–29W1
50May 24@ Reds5–4Penny (3–3)Wilson (2–4)Looper (6)41,28521–29W2
51May 25@ Reds6–2Willis (2–1)Graves (3–3)Looper (7)35,07322–29W3
52May 26Expos5–1Pavano (4–5)Vargas (2–2)—8,36223–29W4
–May 27ExposPostponed (rain, makeup May 28)
53May 28 (1)Expos4–3Phelps (2–0)Hernandez (4–3)Looper (8)N/A24–29W5
54May 28 (2)Expos6–0Tejera (1–3)Day (4–3)—9,16925–29W6
55May 29Expos2–3Ohka (4–5)Almanza (3–3)Biddle (15)9,05225–30L1
56May 30Reds3–4 (11)White (3–0)Almanza (3–4)Williamson (12)17,38525–31L2
57May 31Reds3–2Willis (3–1)Graves (3–4)Looper (9)16,19026–31W1 :
June (16–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
58June 1Reds6–9Sullivan (6–0)Pavano (4–6)Williamson (13)12,23626–32L1
59June 3Athletics13–2Penny (4–3)Mulder (8–3)—10,19527–32W1
60June 4Athletics5–6Bradford (4–3)Spooneybarger (1–2)Foulke (15)10,21527–33L1
61June 5Athletics2–0Willis (4–1)Lilly (3–4)Looper (10)10,14028–33W1
62June 6Angels4–1Pavano (5–6)Appier (4–3)Looper (11)13,18829–33W2
63June 7Angels2–9Sele (3–3)Phelps (2–1)—23,48329–34L1
64June 8Angels5–8Ortiz (6–5)Penny (4–4)Percival (8)12,62029–35L2
65June 10@ Brewers12–4Redman (4–2)Sheets (6–5)—11,59830–35W1
66June 11@ Brewers6–5Willis (5–1)Franklin (3–5)Looper (12)12,41931–35W2
67June 12@ Brewers5–6Kinney (5–4)Pavano (5–7)DeJean (15)13,07531–36L1
68June 13@ Rangers8–0Penny (5–4)Mounce (0–1)—26,07532–36W1
69June 14@ Rangers2–13Valdez (6–2)Phelps (2–2)—37,44332–37L1
70June 15@ Rangers10–4Redman (5–2)Thomson (4–8)—26,02133–37W1
71June 16Mets1–0Willis (6–1)Glavine (5–7)—10,62434–37W2
72June 17Mets0–5Seo (5–2)Pavano (5–8)—10,35934–38L1
73June 18Mets5–10Leiter (8–3)Penny (5–5)Wheeler (1)11,32634–39L2
74June 19Mets5–1Phelps (3–2)Bacsik (1–2)—10,40035–39W1
75June 20Devil Rays3–1 (11)Almanza (4–4)Levine (2–5)—12,51536–39W2
76June 21Devil Rays2–0 (5)Willis (7–1)Standridge (0–2)—15,39737–39W3
77June 22Devil Rays3–2Pavano (6–8)Gonzalez (3–3)Looper (13)10,39238–39W4
78June 24@ Mets8–4Penny (6–5)Leiter (8–4)Tejera (1)22,22639–39W5
79June 25@ Mets3–6Trachsel (6–5)Redman (5–3)Benitez (18)22,56339–40L1
80June 26@ Mets6–1Willis (8–1)Heilman (0–1)—30,37840–40W1
81June 27@ Red Sox8–25Kim (3–6)Pavano (6–9)—34,76440–41L1
82June 28@ Red Sox10–9Bump (1–0)Lyon (3–4)Looper (14)34,80441–41W1
83June 29@ Red Sox7–11Lowe (9–3)Penny (6–6)—34,47641–42L1
84June 30Braves8–1Redman (6–3)Maddux (6–8)—11,25442–42W1 :
July (17–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
85July 1Braves20–1Beckett (3–3)Hampton (3–5)—13,07343–42W2
86July 2Braves1–2 (13)Gryboski (5–3)Almanza (4–5)Smoltz (30)30,63443–43L1
87July 4@ Phillies2–1Looper (4–2)Mesa (3–5)—19,69044–43W1
88July 5@ Phillies5–4Penny (7–6)Padilla (7–8)Looper (15)52,11045–43W2
89July 6@ Phillies6–3Redman (7–3)Wolf (9–4)—26,24446–43W3
90July 7@ Cubs3–6Clement (6–7)Beckett (3–4)Borowski (17)38,66246–44L1
91July 8@ Cubs4–3Bump (2–0)Remlinger (5–3)Looper (16)33,22747–44W1
92July 9@ Cubs1–5Wood (9–6)Pavano (6–10)—33,05447–45L1
93July 11@ Expos5–4Penny (8–6)Biddle (3–4)Looper (17)7,25148–45W1
94July 12@ Expos1–7Hernandez (9–6)Redman (7–4)—28,17048–46L1
95July 13@ Expos11–4Willis (9–1)Vargas (6–5)—16,08449–46W1
–July 1574th All-Star Game in Chicago, IL
96July 18Cubs6–0Redman (8–4)Clement (7–8)—26,17450–46W2
97July 19Cubs0–1Wood (10–6)Penny (8–7)—30,43250–47L1
98July 20Cubs2–16Zambrano (7–8)Willis (9–2)—25,57450–48L2
99July 21Expos4–1Beckett (4–4)Knott (0–1)—10,76951–48W1
100July 22Expos9–1Pavano (7–10)Ohka (7–10)—10,51252–48W2
101July 23@ Braves5–4 (12)Bump (3–0)Hodges (3–1)—27,13753–48W3
102July 24@ Braves2–5Ortiz (14–4)Penny (8–8)Smoltz (37)33,71153–49L1
103July 25Phillies11–5Urbina (1–4)Williams (1–4)—18,10654–49W1
104July 26Phillies10–5Beckett (5–4)Duckworth (3–5)Looper (18)20,54555–49W2
105July 27Phillies7–6Urbina (2–4)Williams (1–5)—12,46756–49W3
106July 28Diamondbacks3–2Redman (9–4)Batista (7–6)Looper (19)10,47257–49W4
107July 29Diamondbacks2–1Penny (9–8)Webb (7–4)Looper (20)11,46958–49W5
108July 30Diamondbacks3–1Willis (10–2)Johnson (1–4)Looper (21)37,73559–49W6 :
August (14–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
109August 1Astros1–2Redding (8–9)Beckett (5–5)Wagner (32)12,39259–50L1
110August 2Astros5–2Pavano (8–10)Robertson (10–5)Looper (22)25,20660–50W1
111August 3Astros1–3Fernandez (1–0)Redman (9–5)Wagner (33)12,26260–51L1
112August 5@ Cardinals4–0Penny (10–8)Williams (14–5)—35,46861–51W1
113August 6@ Cardinals7–3Willis (11–2)Haren (2–3)—31,60662–51W2
114August 7@ Cardinals0–3Tomko (8–7)Beckett (5–6)Isringhausen (9)31,00262–52L1
115August 8@ Brewers5–3Pavano (9–10)Sheets (10–9)Looper (23)25,02263–52W1
116August 9@ Brewers7–1Redman (10–5)Manning (0–2)—28,48864–52W2
117August 10@ Brewers4–5de los Santos (2–3)Penny (10–9)Kolb (6)37,52164–53L1
118August 11Dodgers3–9Od. Perez (8–9)Willis (11–3)—20,28864–54L2
119August 12Dodgers5–4 (13)Fox (2–2)Shuey (4–4)—12,02565–54W1
120August 13Dodgers2–1 (11)Bump (4–0)Alvarez (0–1)—12,32366–54W2
121August 14Dodgers4–6Brown (12–6)Redman (10–6)Gagne (40)12,56166–55L1
122August 15Padres10–0Penny (11–9)Ol. Perez (4–6)—18,34967–55W1
123August 16Padres6–3Fox (3–2)Witasick (3–3)Looper (24)26,10468–55W2
124August 17Padres11–7Beckett (6–6)Eaton (7–9)Tejera (2)12,05269–55W3
125August 19@ Rockies2–10Stark (2–1)Pavano (9–11)—25,88969–56L1
126August 20@ Rockies3–9Vance (1–0)Redman (10–7)—23,53469–57L2
127August 21@ Rockies4–5Speier (3–1)Looper (4–3)—23,84669–58L3
128August 22@ Giants4–6Ponson (15–9)Willis (11–4)Worrell (26)42,24469–59L4
129August 23@ Giants2–3Brower (8–4)Beckett (6–7)Worrell (27)42,18969–60L5
130August 24@ Giants7–4Pavano (10–11)Reuter (7–4)—41.88670–60W1
131August 26@ Pirates3–4Lincoln (2–4)Redman (10–8)Tavarez (3)12,21970–61L1
132August 27@ Pirates0–4Wells (6–7)Penny (11–10)—18,26470–62L2
133August 28@ Pirates0–5Fogg (8–7)Willis (11–5)—12,67970–63L3
134August 29Expos3–2Looper (5–3)Biddle (4–8)—12,23171–63W1
135August 30Expos4–3Pavano (11–11)Hernandez (14–8)Looper (25)20,72472–63W2
136August 31Expos5–3Redman (11–8)Day (7–6)Urbina (27)11,10573–63W3 :
September (18–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
137September 1Expos5–2Penny (12–10)Ohka (8–11)Looper (26)12,41374–63W4
138September 2Pirates2–3Wells (7–7)Willis (11–6)Tavarez (4)10,32774–64L1
139September 3Pirates3–0Beckett (7–7)Fogg (8–8)Urbina (28)11,13575–64W1
140September 4Pirates5–1Tejera (2–3)Torres (5–4)—10,21376–64W2
141September 5@ Expos2–6Hernandez (15–8)Redman (11–9)—11,50976–65L1
142September 6@ Expos14–4Penny (13–10)Ohka (8–12)—14,57077–65W1
143September 7@ Expos3–1Willis (12–6)Vazquez (12–10)Looper (27)12,64778–65W2
144September 8@ Mets5–0Beckett (8–7)Trachsel (14–9)—15,15579–65W3
145September 9@ Mets3–1Urbina (3–4)Weathers (1–6)Looper (28)29,41080–65W4
146September 10@ Mets7–3Redman (12–9)Seo (8–11)—16,69981–65W5
147September 12Braves5–4Looper (6–3)King (3–3)—25,62282–65W6
148September 13Braves8–3Willis (13–6)Ortiz (19–7)—40,41483–65W7
149September 14Braves4–8Cunnane (2–1)Looper (6–4)—18,72583–66L1
150September 16@ Phillies0–14Padilla (14–10)Pavano (11–12)—36,47983–67L2
151September 17@ Phillies11–4Redman (13–9)Myers (14–8)—33,76184–67W1
152September 18@ Phillies4–5Cormier (7–0)Fox (3–3)—20,95084–68L1
153September 19@ Braves0–1Ortiz (20–7)Beckett (8–8)—35,94284–69L2
154September 20@ Braves6–5 (11)Helling (8–8)Cunnane (2–2)—42,49685–69W1
155September 21@ Braves0–8Maddux (15–11)Pavano (11–13)—33,82785–70L1
156September 22@ Braves6–3Redman (14–9)Hampton (14–8)Urbina (29)17,34586–70W1
157September 23Phillies5–4Tejera (3–3)Williams (1–7)Urbina (30)25,31187–70W2
158September 24Phillies6–5Beckett (9–8)Myers (14–9)Urbina (31)28,52088–70W3
159September 25Phillies8–4Penny (14–10)Wolf (16–10)—31,93589–70W4
160September 26Mets4–3Pavano (12–13)Heilman (2–7)Urbina (32)33,21590–70W5
161September 27Mets3–9Seo (9–11)Tejera (3–4)—30,20490–71L1
162September 28Mets4–0Willis (14–6)Griffiths (1–4)—27,52991–71W1 :
* 1 2 3 Games the Montreal Expos played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the 2003 season counted as Expos home games.

### Postseason game log

Legend :
| Marlins win | Marlins loss | Game postponed |
2003 postseason game log (11–6) :
NLDS vs San Francisco (3–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1September 30@ Giants0–2Schmidt (1–0)Beckett (0–1)—43,7040–1
2October 1@ Giants9–5Pavano (1–0)Nathan (0–1)—43,7661–1
3October 3Giants4–3 (11)Looper (1–0)Worrell (0–1)—61,4882–1
4October 4Giants7–6Pavano (2–0)Rodriguez (0–1)Urbina (1)65,4643–1 :
NLCS vs Chicago (4–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 7@ Cubs9–8 (11)Urbina (1–0)Guthrie (0–1)Looper (1)39,5671–0
2October 8@ Cubs3–12Prior (1–0)Penny (0–1)—39,5621–1
3October 10Cubs4–5 (11)Borowski (1–0)Tejera (0–1)Remlinger (1)65,1151–2
4October 11Cubs3–8Clement (1–0)Willis (0–1)—65,8291–3
5October 12Cubs4–0Beckett (1–0)Zambrano (0–1)—65,2792–3
6October 14@ Cubs8–3Fox (1–0)Prior (1–1)—39,5773–3
7October 15@ Cubs9–6Penny (1–1)Wood (0–1)Urbina (1)39,5744–3 :
World Series vs New York (4–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 18@ Yankees3–2Penny (1–0)Wells (0–1)Urbina (1)55,7691–0
2October 19@ Yankees1–6Pettitte (1–0)Redman (0–1)—55,7501–1
3October 21Yankees1–6Mussina (1–0)Beckett (0–1)Rivera (1)65,7311–2
4October 22Yankees4–3 (12)Looper (1–0)Weaver (0–1)—65,9342–2
5October 23Yankees6–4Penny (2–0)Contreras (0–1)Urbina (2)65,9753–2
6October 25@ Yankees2–0Beckett (1–1)Pettitte (1–1)—55,7734–2 :

### Sluggish start

Jeff Torborg, the manager at the start of the season, led the team to a 16-22 start. Adding to that, their three top pitchers A. J. Burnett, Josh Beckett and Mark Redman, had each endured injuries that season, but Beckett and Redman were able to return to finish the rest of 2003. On May 11, Torborg was fired and replaced with Jack McKeon, a 72-year-old who began his major league managerial career in 1973 with the Kansas City Royals.

### Midseason acquisitions

* Miguel Cabrera – 3B → called up from the AA Carolina Mudcats
* Jeff Conine – 1B → acquired from Baltimore in exchange for two minor league players.
* Dontrelle Willis – LHP → called up from the Mudcats.
* Ugueth Urbina – RHP → acquired from Texas in exchange for Adrián González and two other minor league players.
* Aaron Small (RHP) signed as a free agent.

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Iván Rodríguez | 144 | 511 | 152 | .297 | 16 | 85 |
| 1B | Derrek Lee | 155 | 539 | 146 | .271 | 31 | 92 |
| 2B | Luis Castillo | 152 | 595 | 187 | .314 | 6 | 39 |
| 3B | Mike Lowell | 130 | 492 | 136 | .276 | 32 | 105 |
| SS | Álex González | 150 | 528 | 135 | .256 | 18 | 77 |
| LF | Todd Hollandsworth | 93 | 228 | 58 | .254 | 3 | 20 |
| CF | Juan Pierre | 162 | 668 | 204 | .305 | 1 | 41 |
| RF | Juan Encarnación | 156 | 601 | 162 | .270 | 19 | 94 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Miguel Cabrera | 87 | 314 | 84 | .268 | 12 | 62 |
| Brian Banks | 92 | 149 | 35 | .235 | 4 | 23 |
| Mike Redmond | 59 | 125 | 30 | .240 | 0 | 11 |
| Andy Fox | 70 | 108 | 21 | .194 | 0 | 8 |
| Mike Mordecai | 65 | 89 | 19 | .213 | 2 | 8 |
| Jeff Conine | 25 | 84 | 20 | .238 | 5 | 15 |
| Ramón Castro | 40 | 53 | 15 | .283 | 5 | 8 |
| Gerald Williams | 27 | 31 | 4 | .129 | 0 | 3 |
| Chad Allen | 12 | 24 | 5 | .208 | 0 | 0 |
| Lenny Harris | 13 | 14 | 4 | .286 | 0 | 1 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Carl Pavano | 33 | 32 | 201.0 | 12 | 13 | 4.30 | 133 |
| Brad Penny | 32 | 32 | 196.1 | 14 | 10 | 4.13 | 138 |
| Mark Redman | 29 | 29 | 190.2 | 14 | 9 | 3.59 | 151 |
| Dontrelle Willis | 27 | 27 | 160.2 | 14 | 6 | 3.30 | 142 |
| Josh Beckett | 24 | 23 | 142.0 | 9 | 8 | 3.04 | 152 |
| A. J. Burnett | 4 | 4 | 23.0 | 0 | 2 | 4.70 | 21 |
| Justin Wayne | 2 | 2 | 5.1 | 0 | 2 | 11.81 | 1 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Michael Tejera | 50 | 81.0 | 3 | 4 | 4.67 | 58 |
| Tommy Phelps | 27 | 63.0 | 3 | 2 | 4.00 | 43 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Braden Looper | 74 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 3.68 | 56 |
| Armando Almanza | 51 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6.08 | 49 |
| Tim Spooneybarger | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.07 | 32 |
| Ugueth Urbina | 33 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1.41 | 37 |
| Nate Bump | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4.71 | 17 |
| Chad Fox | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.13 | 27 |
| Allen Levrault | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 21 |
| Blaine Neal | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.14 | 10 |
| Vladimir Núñez | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16.03 | 10 |
| Rick Helling | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.55 | 12 |
| Juan Alvarez | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.09 | 6 |
| Kevin Olsen | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.75 | 12 |
| Toby Borland | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.86 | 4 |

## Postseason

With a 4–3 win over the New York Mets on September 26, the Marlins clinched their second wildcard in team history, and finishing with an overall record of 91–71.

### National League Division Series

The Marlins won the Division Series over the heavily favored defending National League champion San Francisco Giants. The series ended with a play at the plate with catcher Iván Rodríguez prevailing over Giants first baseman J. T. Snow. Coupled with a perfect throw from Conine and an amazing catch from Rodríguez, Snow was attempting to score by using a football type bulldozing move, but Rodríguez held on and the Marlins won, marking the first time that a post-season series ended with the potential tying run being thrown out at home plate.

### NLCS

The 2003 National League Championship Series is arguably one of the most famous (or infamous) post-season series in MLB history. On one side, the Florida Marlins, the miracle who, just a few months before, were at the cellar of the NL. On the other side, the Chicago Cubs, the "lovable losers", who, for the first time in a long time, were so close to victory. The Cubs jumped to a quick 3 games to 1 lead including 2 out of the 3 games in Miami, and were the sure favorites to take the series when it shifted back to Chicago. In Game Five, an absolutely stellar performance by Josh Beckett brought the series back to Chicago, back to Wrigley Field, where the home team has always had the advantage. With the Cubs needing to win only one game, and having studs Mark Prior and Kerry Wood on the hill those two games, most people thought the Marlins hope was over. In Game Six, the Cubs enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 lead with one out in the 8th Inning, when it all fell apart, and the Marlins went on to win the game, tying the series. This was the game of the Steve Bartman incident. In game seven, Brad Penny drove it home for the Fish, clinching their second pennant in 6 years.

### 2003 World Series

In the World Series, the underdog Marlins prevailed over the Yankees, 4 games to 2. This World Series marked the 100th anniversary of the annual event, although because there had not been a World Series played in what would have been its second year (1904), and the cancellation of all post-season play as a result of the strike in 1994, it was only the 99th World Series played. Josh Beckett was named the World Series MVP.

#### Quote

   Trying to win it all again. Posada, slow roller, right side. Beckett picks it up, tags Posada, and the Florida Marlins are World Champions. The Marlins have stunned the Yankees, shocked New York, and this improbable team, improbable ride, they end up on top, winning in 6 games over the Yankees.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Albuquerque Isotopes | Pacific Coast League | Dean Treanor |
| AA | Carolina Mudcats | Southern League | Tracy Woodson |
| A | Jupiter Hammerheads | Florida State League | Luis Dorante |
| A | Greensboro Bats | South Atlantic League | Steve Phillips |
| A-Short Season | Jamestown Jammers | New York–Penn League | Benny Castillo |
| Rookie | GCL Marlins | Gulf Coast League | Tim Cossins |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Carolina