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When the Marlins traded reliever Jay Voss to the Detroit Tigers at the end of spring training for starter Nate Robertson, there was a debate as to how useful the trade would be. Many people on our forums thought the move did an injustice to pitcher Clay Hensley, who had undoubtedly pitched his way into the rotation in spring training. On Thursday night, however, the move paid its first dividends, as Robertson pitched five strong innings to help lead the Marlins to a victory and series win over the New York Mets.
This victory, however, was not Robertson's first contribution to the Marlins. In 2002, Robertson was a Marlins prospect who started one game in September and made five other relief appearances. (Pop trivia question: How many Marlins players have gone as long as or longer than Robertson between appearances for the Marlins? Who were they? Hint: they were all pitchers.) And no, that September - 11 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings, for those keeping score at home - still wasn't his greatest contribution to the Marlins. After the season was over, the Marlins swapped Robertson and a young reliever named Gary Knotts for lefty pitcher Mark Redman. Knotts had had a solid 2002 season with the Fish, posting a 4.40 ERA in 28 games. The Tigers tried him as a starter for parts of 2003 and 2004, as he appeared in 56 games and started 37 of them. His ERA in those two seasons was 5.58, and after injuring his shoulder in 2005, never threw another major league pitch. He's now pursuing a criminal justice degree at Calhoun Community College, as well as serving as their baseball coach. Robertson did a little more with his time in Detroit, posting a 4.87 ERA over seven seasons in Detroit. In 2008, his ERA was 6.35, and he spent the majority of 2009 in the bullpen.
Redman, on the other hand, joined the Marlins coming off a 2002 season that saw him post a respectable 4.21 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 203 innings despite going 8-15 (that Tigers team was really, really bad). In 2003 for the Marlins, Redman won 14 games (a career high) and posted a 3.59 ERA (a career low) en route to helping the Marlins make the playoffs. He pitched a solid game in the Division Series but wasn't great in the NLCS or World Series. After the season, the Marlins traded him to Oakland, and he never posted an ERA lower than 4.71 again. He last pitched in Colorado in 2008, and it's certain that his season with the Marlins was the best of his career, despite the fact that he was the Royals' All Star representative in 2006, when he was 6-4 with a 5.27 ERA and 32 strikeouts to 32 walks at the break. That Royals team was really, really bad too.
If you look at it that way, Robertson already helped the Marlins once, and they're clearly hoping that he's this year's Mark Redman. And if you're wondering the answer to the trivia question, the answer is 3. Robertson went 7 full MLB seasons (from 2003-2009) between time on the Marlins' roster. Al Leiter (1998-2004) did the same. Dave Weathers went from July 30, 1996, until September 9, 2004, without throwing a pitch for the Marlins, missing 7 full seasons (1997-2003) and 7 baseball months, which is one baseball calendar year and another month. The winner is Aaron Small, who went the entire 1996-2003 seasons (8 years), and half of the 2004 season, without throwing a pitch for the Marlins. However, he gets an asterisk, because he was actually signed by the Marlins in 2003 and pitched in the minors until July 1, 2004.
This victory, however, was not Robertson's first contribution to the Marlins. In 2002, Robertson was a Marlins prospect who started one game in September and made five other relief appearances. (Pop trivia question: How many Marlins players have gone as long as or longer than Robertson between appearances for the Marlins? Who were they? Hint: they were all pitchers.) And no, that September - 11 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings, for those keeping score at home - still wasn't his greatest contribution to the Marlins. After the season was over, the Marlins swapped Robertson and a young reliever named Gary Knotts for lefty pitcher Mark Redman. Knotts had had a solid 2002 season with the Fish, posting a 4.40 ERA in 28 games. The Tigers tried him as a starter for parts of 2003 and 2004, as he appeared in 56 games and started 37 of them. His ERA in those two seasons was 5.58, and after injuring his shoulder in 2005, never threw another major league pitch. He's now pursuing a criminal justice degree at Calhoun Community College, as well as serving as their baseball coach. Robertson did a little more with his time in Detroit, posting a 4.87 ERA over seven seasons in Detroit. In 2008, his ERA was 6.35, and he spent the majority of 2009 in the bullpen.
Redman, on the other hand, joined the Marlins coming off a 2002 season that saw him post a respectable 4.21 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 203 innings despite going 8-15 (that Tigers team was really, really bad). In 2003 for the Marlins, Redman won 14 games (a career high) and posted a 3.59 ERA (a career low) en route to helping the Marlins make the playoffs. He pitched a solid game in the Division Series but wasn't great in the NLCS or World Series. After the season, the Marlins traded him to Oakland, and he never posted an ERA lower than 4.71 again. He last pitched in Colorado in 2008, and it's certain that his season with the Marlins was the best of his career, despite the fact that he was the Royals' All Star representative in 2006, when he was 6-4 with a 5.27 ERA and 32 strikeouts to 32 walks at the break. That Royals team was really, really bad too.
If you look at it that way, Robertson already helped the Marlins once, and they're clearly hoping that he's this year's Mark Redman. And if you're wondering the answer to the trivia question, the answer is 3. Robertson went 7 full MLB seasons (from 2003-2009) between time on the Marlins' roster. Al Leiter (1998-2004) did the same. Dave Weathers went from July 30, 1996, until September 9, 2004, without throwing a pitch for the Marlins, missing 7 full seasons (1997-2003) and 7 baseball months, which is one baseball calendar year and another month. The winner is Aaron Small, who went the entire 1996-2003 seasons (8 years), and half of the 2004 season, without throwing a pitch for the Marlins. However, he gets an asterisk, because he was actually signed by the Marlins in 2003 and pitched in the minors until July 1, 2004.
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