When Kyle Schwarber played for the Chicago Cubs his game wasn’t very appealing to a fan outside of Chicago. A big man, who hit big home runs. There wasn’t much he did to distinguish himself from the riff raff around the league. He was a .230 hitter who struck out a lot. A catcher turned outfielder who was shoddy on defense. Didn’t care much for the guy. Then he signed with the Washington Nationals.
From the get-go we were mesmerized with the behemoth. A lot changes when a player is playing for you as opposed to playing against you. For the Nationals, Schwarber went on a home run barrage for the ages. Then he suffered a serious hamstring injury. After July 3, he would not play in a game for the Nationals again. Traded to the Boston Red Sox. He stole our heart quickly, then was swiftly ushered out of our lives.
Schwarber expressed interest in returning to Washington, though all potential free agents say the same things about the teams they have left. The Nationals would only reciprocate the feelings if Schwarbs came cheap. He will not. Rumor has it he’s looking for something in the range of $60M for 3 years.
With free agent outfielder, Kyle Schwarber, looking for a job, the Miami Marlins have reportedly been connected to the former Nationals heavy hitter.
You’ll have to forgive me if I dig deep for these references, though I was a Montreal Expos fan before I was a Nationals fan. However, have you ever seen Andre Dawson in a Marlins uniform? How about Tim Raines? Gary Carter? I’ll even throw out Cliff Floyd. All of them were Expos mainstays who later wore the colors of the Marlins. And they look disgusting doing so.
Good for those players to continue their playing careers. Dawson was born and raised in Florida. Happy he could hit the final home run of his Hall of Fame career there. Raines is also a native Floridian, and he ended his HOF days in a Marlins uniform as well.
I fully understand the game is a business and the players go where the paychecks are. There is no loss of respect for these players either, there has never been any respect for the Marlins franchise though. Two World Series titles, followed by two fire sales. The Jeffrey Loria tenure, and the duped taxpayers in coughing up money for a new stadium. With waterfalls and dancing Marlins!
Now we have the Derek Jeter experience (not to be confused with the Fernando Rodney experience) to contend to. Jeter came in and canned Dawson, who was the special assistant to the team president. A move which saved the team a measly $85,000. The franchise has kept the wallet close to the vest ever since.
The Marlins can sign whomever they please. I’d just prefer it not be players I have grown to love. For this reason, I do not want to see Kyle Schwarber in teal.