Mike Redmond Plans To Reprise Role With Cancer Patients As He Returns Here To Manage Marlins Team He Played For

Fans, rejoice — baseball season is no longer a dot on the horizon. It is now in plain sight, and the Miami Marlins have started their spring training under the guidance of a familiar face, Mike Redmond.

Mr. Redmond, a catcher, made his major league debut with the then Florida Marlins and played for the team from 1998 to 2004. He has many memories as a Marlins player, including being part of the winning 2003 World Series team. The team defeated the New York Yankees in six games, four games to two.

After his stint with the Marlins, Mr. Redmond was off to Minnesota, where he played with the Twins from 2005 to 2009. The next stop was Cleveland, where he played for the Indians in 2010.

In 2011, it was time for Mr. Redmond to make another baseball debut, this time as manager. He did so with Lansing — and earned the Midwest League Manager of the Year award for guiding the Lugnuts to a 77-60 record and an appearance in the Midwest League finals.

He added Dunedin manager to his resume last year, leading the Blue Jays to a 78-55 record and advanced to the first round of Florida State League playoffs.

Mr. Redmond’s career has transitioned from player to manager and the organization has made some significant transitions of its own in the past few years.

The franchise ended 2011 with a name change — from Florida Marlins to Miami Marlins — and a new logo and uniforms were unveiled.

It wasn’t long after that the Miami Marlins started their 2012 season at their own ballpark — the site of the former Orange Bowl. After sharing Sun Life Stadium with the Miami Dolphins for 19 seasons, the team finally had a stadium to call its own — with a retractable roof, no less.

While the stadium has been a sore point for some in the community, remarks made by then manager Ozzie Guillen about Fidel Castro last year soured things for the Marlins even further.

He apologized, was suspended for five games, and 13 months after signing a four-year, $10 million deal, was dismissed as manager.

In stepped Mr. Redmond — the recipient of the 2005 Bob Allison Award, given by the Minnesota Twins organization to a player who exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership both on and off the field. These qualities, Mr. Redmond said, are what he wants in his Marlins players this season.

With a host of young players ready to take the field, Mr. Redmond said he is looking forward to starting the season and showing the fans some good baseball.

Before spring training for the team started last week in Jupiter, Miami Today reporter Laura Stace interviewed Mr. Redmond in the Marlins dugout at Marlins Park. To read the full article and the rest of the Miami Today issue, GO TO e-MIAMI TODAY, an exact replica of the printed edition. To read this profile article in its entirety, subscribe to e-MiamiToday. With the e-MiamiToday you will be able to read the entire contents of Miami Today online exactly as it appears in print. –> Or order this issue, to receive a regular printed copy of this week’s Miami Today. You may also subscribe to the printed edition of Miami Today to receive the newspaper every week by mail. If you are reading this in Miami Today’s “Online Archive” as an archived web page and would like to see the entire article that was published, call Miami Today, 305-358-2663 and ask for the Circulation Department.   Top Front Page About Miami Today Put Your Message in Miami Today Contact Miami Today © Copyright 2013 Miami Today designed and produced by Green Dot Advertising and Marketingvar gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”);document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”));var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-4990655-1”);pageTracker._initData();pageTracker._trackPageview();