Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
There are no warmed-over leftovers left over to be warmed over…leftover.
—Barney to a hungry Fred after Wilma had kicked him out of the house on the seminal "Flintstones" ("I can't believe the Stones are still together after all these years…Fred and Barney", Steven Wright).
When I was a kid, we had a rule while playing poker that allowed a player to drop every card in his hand after a deal if he had absolutely nothing of use in his hand, not even "Ace high". You just had to say, "I got nothing," show the nothingness to the dealer, and voila, you were rewarded with five new cards. It was kind of like using first or second card instead of the third in Solitaire after you reached an impasse. It was cheating within the rules.
It's kind of like what the Marlins management have done to their team this winter. With just one starting position player and two pitchers from the rotation remaining from the 2005 Marlin roster and a 70% payroll cut (which I've documented ad nauseum in the past), Florida hasn't technically broken any rules, but if you were a fan before these moves (if there are any Marlins fans), you have to feel cheated.
I just realized that the Marlins have done something that has never been done before and they haven't even played (and inevitably lost) a game yet.
Unless new third baseman Miguel Cabrera switches back to left field, the Marlins will become the first team in major-league history to replace every starting position player in one offseason. Cabrera is the only starting position player returning and he has been shifted back to his natural position, third base, with Mike Lowell leaving the team.
Throw in departed Todd Jones, who had the most appearances as a pitcher, and a new manager and you have something truly unprecedented.
Here are the only clubs with no more than one holdover from one season to the next. The Marlins make the list two other times, in two consecutive years (1997 & '98, no surprise):
| Yr | Team | # Replaced | Holdovers |
| 2005 | Florida Marlins | 9 | None |
| 2004 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 8 | Luis Gonzalez, LF |
| 2004 | Milwaukee Brewers | 8 | Lyle Overbay, 1B |
| 2002 | New York Mets | 8 | Roberto Alomar, 2B |
| 1998 | Florida Marlins | 8 | Mark Kotsay, RF |
| 1998 | Kansas City Royals | 8 | Jermaine Dye, RF |
| 1997 | Florida Marlins | 8 | Edgar Renteria, SS |
| 1997 | Oakland Athletics | 8 | Scott Spiezio, 2B |
| 1996 | Kansas City Royals | 8 | Mike Macfarlane, C |
The 2005 Marlins are listed with nine starters including DH, i.e., Jeff Conine (3 games at DH), who has also left.
You may notice that none of these teams is from before 1996 and that they all employed DHs in some capacity (at least in interleague games). No teams replaced all but one player in the pre-DH era—2 holdovers is the least of any pre-DH team.
In 2003 Mike Piazza was also a holdover for the Mets. He started the season and played until the middle of May before getting injured.
In 1999 Derrick Lee was a holdover for the Marlins and started virtually every game through the end of May before getting hurt.
Ben Grieve could be considered a holdover for Oakland in 1998 because he started every game but two in RF for the Athletics in September, 1997.
Johnny Damon was a holdover for the Royals in 1997. In 1996 he played 145 games for the Royals with the majority in CF and in 1997 he played in 146 games, most frequently in CF.
The amazing thing is that the Royals tore their team apart three years in a row.
No, none of those guys were starters the next season in the same position. Damon was the only one that was a starter both years but was a starter at CF one year and at LF the other.
Yes they were. Retrosheet proves it.
Piazza was the starting catcher for the Mets in 2002 and then in 2003 he started at catcher for the first month and a half before getting hurt. Look at retrosheet:
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Ipiazm0010142003.htm
The same with Derrick Lee:
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Ilee-d0020031999.htm
As for Grieve, he was the starting RF for the A's for the last month of the season in 1997 and he was certainly being counted on by the A's to play RF in 1998.
Don't go by baseball-reference's team summaries. That only tells you who ended up playing the most games at a position during the year.
I'm sorry I thought you meant what you wrote, "...Marlins will become the first team in major-league history to replace every starting position player in one offseason. Cabrera is the only starting position player returning and he has been"
What were Lee and Piazza if not starting position players returning?
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