Marlins fans know all too well the pain of going through a full-scale, burn-it-to-the-ground rebuild. Miami has suffered through it twice already, but those were at least after winning a World Series title. The current iteration is the result of a new ownership gutting payroll immediately after paying $1.2 billion for the team.
Lewis Brinson meeting boyhood idol Juan Pierre is the feel-good story Marlins fans need
But if there is at least a silver lining to the dark cloud over the franchise, it might be outfielder Lewis Brinson, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Christian Yelich trade. In recent national rankings, Brinson was ranked the 18th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America, 27th by MLB Pipeline, and 32nd by ESPN.
The 23-year-old Brinson has power and speed for days, and hit .331/.400/.562 with 13 home runs and 22 doubles in just 76 games in Triple-A in 2017.
The kicker here is that Brinson played high school ball in nearby Coral Springs, Florida, and he grew up a Marlins fan. He was nine years old when Miami won its second World Series, beating the New York Yankees in six games. Brinson was drawn to the leadoff-hitting center fielder on that team — Juan Pierre, who hit .305/.361/.373 and stole 65 bases that season.
The Marlins set up for Pierre to make a surprise visit to Brinson recently, and filmed the meeting.
Seeing the look of joy and surprise on Brinson’s face was pretty great. And Pierre even gave his blessing for Brinson to wear No. 9, the number Pierre wore with the Marlins.
“I think you might have too much power to wear number nine,” joked Pierre, who hit 18 home runs in his 14 big league seasons.
“I got the speed, though,” Brinson said.
“You got both,” Pierre said. “I’m jealous.”
The respect was mutual.
After what has been a rough offseason to date, the Marlins needed a positive story like this one.
