Over the years, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had some forgettable years. Bad seasons tend to lead to high draft picks, but only once, however, have the Marlins had the top overall pick.
That pick was made on this day 25 years ago. The Florida Marlins selected a power-hitting left-handed first baseman in California native Adrián González on June 5, 2000.
The first round featured a fair number of recognizable names to baseball fans, including Rocco Baldelli, Chase Utley and Adam Wainwright. Other notables included future Marlins like Justin Wayne and Joe Borchard.
González would go on to have a stellar career, batting .287 with 317 home runs. A five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, González, however, never played in the majors for the Marlins.
While the organization has been chided for its moves over the years, it can be debated whether the return for González was adequate. The Marlins were in the middle of a pennant race in 2003 when they sent the former No. 1 overall pick to the Texas Rangers along with prospect Will Smith (not the big-league pitcher or catcher) for closer Ugueth Urbina.
Urbina joined Braden Looper at the back end of the bullpen and appeared in just 33 regular season games for the Marlins — all in 2003. The native of the Venezuela, however, was nails, posting a 3-0 record and six saves to go with a 1.41 ERA.
Urbina spent 11 seasons in Major League Baseball with six teams and earned trips to the All-Star Game with the Montreal Expos in 1998 and Boston Red Sox in 2002. His only trip to the postseason, however, came with Florida and culminated in a world championship.
Urbina appeared in 10 of the Marlins’ 16 games that postseason. He posted a 1-0 record, 3.46 ERA and was 4-for-6 in save opportunities. Urbina picked up the saves to close out both the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs in the National League Division and Championship Series, respectively, before picking up two saves in the World Series as Florida took down the New York Yankees in six games.
As for González, he would spend time with Texas, the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. He led the league in walks in 2009 for the Padres, hits for Boston in 2011 and RBIs for the Dodgers in 2014. Although he never played for the Marlins at the Major League level, González continues to hold the distinction of being the club’s only No. 1 overall pick. He was selected on this day a quarter-century ago.