Giants-slayers
Marlins treat San Francisco to defeat, 7-5.
MIAMI — Although the Marlins set their throwback teal uniforms aside and returned focus on the present following their 25th anniversary weekend celebration, the turn-back-the-clock theme continued Monday with Tommy Hutton debuting as pregame and postgame TV analyst on Fox Sports Florida.
Hutton, the passionate color commentator on Marlins games for 19 seasons before his contract wasn’t renewed following the 2015 season, said he felt like a rookie stepping into a different role than he’s done in a broadcasting career that began in 1982 following 12 seasons in the big leagues.
“I said, ‘You want to hire a guy that has no experience?’ I’ve never done studio pre- and post[game] stuff,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes. I think I’ll handle it.”
Hutton made it clear that he will continue to offer honest analysis of the Marlins and players.
After his firing in 2015, reports surfaced that it was due to previous Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria objecting to some of Hutton’s comments about the team and that players had also complained.
“Critical and honesty is a fine line. I think I’ll be honest.” Tommy Hutton, returning Marlins broadcaster
Hutton was known for going on rants when developments on the field upset his baseball sensibilities. Although some major league markets prefer local announcers tone down criticism of the home team, Hutton’s honesty and insights generally endeared him to serious fans.
“Critical and honesty is a fine line. I think I’ll be honest,” he said. “I still plan on doing that. Nobody told me to do otherwise.”
Hutton’s return to the booth was a surprise offshoot of the anniversary celebration. He served as MC of Saturday’s ceremony honoring players from the past 25 years, then made the unexpected announcement on the air during the MarlinsPadres game.
He will work 45 games, including all four of this week’s home series against the Giants and be in the studio Saturday when the Marlins begin an extended road trip at Baltimore. But then he will take off on a 3 1⁄2-week family trip that was planned before he was approached during the past month about rejoining the broadcast team.
“The interesting part is I’m a fill-in,” he said. “It’s like I’m coming off the bench. I’m an extra man. And that’s what I was my whole [playing] career. It works out perfect.”
Hutton, who provided continuity through a turbulent Marlins history of ownership changes, fan unrest and the World Series championships in 1997 and 2003, said he is mindful of the current team’s situation of rebuilding and attempting to develop a new crop of young players.
Consequently, his focus will be less on wins and losses than on the development of those players.
“Progress,” he said. “I think the whole plan is to see [how they] build on this, build on this and see how the progress goes, week by week, month by month by the year’s end.”
Nonetheless, that won’t preclude Hutton from pointing out the shortcomings.
“If a young kid makes a mistake that’s a mental mistake, you’ve got to let somebody know,” he said. “I’m sure those are things [manager Don] Mattingly knows too.
“But physical mistakes, it’s tough when you’re judging a young player up here.”