Jeff Conine - Florida Marlins

Florida Marlins

Conine was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft, and converted into a full-time left fielder. Though the Marlins narrowly avoided 100 losses, Conine emerged as a star. He went four-for-four in his first game as a Marlin, and played a full 162 game schedule in left field his rookie season. He batted .292 with twelve home runs and 79 RBIs to earn a third place finish in National League Rookie of the Year balloting.

The following season, Conine was batting .313 with thirteen home runs and 64 RBIs at the All-Star break to earn selection to the NL club. He finished the strike shortened 1994 season with a career high .319 batting average, eighteen home runs and 82 RBIs. During the strike, Conine returned to the Marlins' Instructional League affiliate in Brevard County to learn third base.

The experiment never materialized, and Conine returned to left field once play resumed in 1995. He batted .340 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs in June to earn National League Player of the Month honors and his second consecutive All-Star nod. In his only career All-Star game at-bat, he hit a go-ahead pinch hit home run in the eighth inning to receive MVP honors. For the season, he posted a career high 105 RBIs with a .302 average and 25 home runs. In 1996, Conine finished with 26 home runs, a career high, 95 RBI, and a .293 average.