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Dodgers and Marlins have many ties that bind them in history

Josh Beckett, as a member of the then-Florida Marlins, pitched against the New York Yankees during Game 6 of the 2003 World Series.
(Gary Hershorn / Associated Press)
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The Miami Marlins and the Dodgers are inextricably linked through history and trades:

• On April 5, 1993, in their first game, the then-Florida Marlins defeated the Dodgers, 6-3. Former Dodgers knuckleballer Charlie Hough earned the victory; Orel Hershiser took the loss.

• On May 15, 1998, the teams made perhaps the most controversial trade in Dodgers history.

The Marlins, a year removed from their first World Series title, were dumping salaries. The Dodgers, with the Fox Group taking over from the O’Malley family, were embroiled in a contract dispute with All-Star catcher Mike Piazza. In a trade engineered by Fox executives, not Dodgers officials, the team sent Piazza and infielder Todd Zeile to the Marlins for All-Stars Bobby Bonilla, Gary Sheffield and Charles Johnson, outfielder Jim Eisenreich and rookie pitcher Manuel Barrios. The combined salaries of the players — $109. 3 million — made it the most expensive trade in baseball history at the time.

The Marlins completed their salary purge by trading Piazza to the New York Mets seven days later.

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• On July 30, 2004, with the Frank McCourt-owned Dodgers in first place in the National League West, then-general manager Paul DePodesta sent popular catcher Paul Lo Duca, reliever Guillermo Mota and outfielder Juan Encarnacion to the Marlins for pitcher Brad Penny, first baseman Hee-Seop Choi and minor league pitcher Bill Murphy.

• On July 25, 2012, new Dodgers ownership approved a four-player trade with the Marlins that brought infielder Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers.

• On Aug. 25, 2012, Marlins DNA was present in a nine-player trade that brought first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett and others to the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox. In 2000, the Marlins selected Gonzalez with the No. 1 pick in the amateur draft. Gonzalez never played for the major league club because he and two other players were traded to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Ugueth Urbina in July 2003. Urbina helped the Marlins win the 2003 World Series. Beckett, taken by the Marlins with the No. 2 pick in the 1999 draft, was a 2003 World Series hero.

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