2003 World Series - Background

Background

The 2003 World Series featured the New York Yankees in their sixth Series appearance in eight years. Opposing them were the wild card Florida Marlins, appearing in their second World Series in their eleven-year franchise history. The Marlins became the second straight wild card team to win the World Series; the Anaheim Angels won in 2002. The series was, however, somewhat overshadowed by the League Championship Series that year, when the Chicago Cubs and the Red Sox, both widely believed to be cursed, went down to dramatic defeats, five outs away from the pennant, and each in seven games. However, Marlins manager Jack McKeon disagreed, and having lived in South Amboy, New Jersey and attending Yankee games when a child, said that he wanted to play the Yankees in his first World Series.

It was the 100th anniversary of the World Series, and advertised as such. However, it was only the 99th event due to a strike cancelling the 1994 World Series and the boycott of the 1904 World Series by the National League.

The Marlins started the season 16–22 when they fired manager Jeff Torborg and hired McKeon, who had been retired from baseball for over two years. They went 75–49 under McKeon to win the wild card. At 72, McKeon would become the oldest manager to ever win a World Series. They lost the first game of the NLDS to the San Francisco Giants, but came back to win the final three. After going down three games to one to the Cubs in the NLCS, they rallied to win the final three games. In the World Series, the Marlins put up their young roster with a $54 million payroll up against the storied Yankees and their $164 million payroll. By facing the Marlins, the Yankees faced every team in the National League that had won a National League pennant. Since then, the 2005 Houston Astros and the 2007 Colorado Rockies have reached the World Series without facing the Yankees.