The Miami Marlins might be playing in front of crowds that barely fill a high school stadium, but Owen Caissie is giving those 6,515 fans who showed up Monday something to get excited about.
The 23-year-old outfielder capped off his whirlwind opening weekend with a walk-off two-run homer that helped sweep the Colorado Rockies. It’s the first time Miami’s started 3-0 since 2009.
“I kind of blacked out,” Caissie said Sunday, as reported by WPLG Local 10 News. “You kind of wish for moments like this.”
The fanbase – what’s left of it – has been waiting for moments like these for a long time. Since 2011, the Marlins have lost at least 85 games 11 times. They’ve hit triple digits in losses three times, including 100 last season alone.
But Caissie’s making a case that things might be different this year.
The Canadian arrived in Miami through a January trade that sent right-hander Edward Cabrera to Chicago. In that opening series against Colorado, he led the team with five hits and four RBI. He’s playing his way into an everyday role.
Tuesday’s game showed more of the same. After the Marlins dropped their first game of the season, Caissie bounced back with an RBI single in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth, helping fuel a 9-2 victory.
The Real Question
Are the Marlins actually for real at 4-1? When you’re drawing crowds of 6,667 on a Tuesday night, it’s hard to take any franchise seriously. But what Caissie’s doing on the field is giving Miami something it hasn’t had in years – a reason for optimism.
The way I see it, individual performances like this can sometimes carry a team further than anyone expects. Whether the Marlins can sustain it remains the question, but Caissie’s early production suggests they might have found something in that trade.
