Jeffrey Loria: Your worst person in Miami sports history
We probably didn’t need to do this.
It was kind of a foregone conclusion, when we selected 52 of the least popular sports figures in South Florida history — split into Sports Figures and Athletes brackets — that the frugal, former owner of the Miami Marlins would eventually tear down the nets like he tore down baseball in this market.
Still, we went through it anyway, and Jeffrey Loria was the big winner… or loser.
(We won’t show his face because, well, why?)
He was never really challenged, not against another former Marlins owner (John Henry), not against former Dolphins GM Mike Tannenbaum, not against the destroyer of the University of Miami football program Nevin Shapiro, not in the Futile Four against former Dolphins coach Nick Saban — who upset Loria’s son-in-law David Samson in the Awful Eight — and certainly not in the Final against the person you oddly deemed the worst athlete (former Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin).
This was a rout.
And why not?
Loria did win a World Series as owner, but he also made decision after decision to destroy the Marlins franchise. (Oh, and he called me a “piece of crap columnist” once, so I’ll acknowledge some bias.
He’ll probably take this condemnation as a compliment.
What was strange was the other side of the bracket, where four former Dolphins (Martin, Dion Jordan, Mike Wallace, Jay Cutler) were the last four left, not exactly the quartet we expected. In fact, Dolphins kept beating Heat, Marlins, Panthers and Hurricanes players in terms of how much you disliked them.
But no one beats Loria, not at this game.
When it comes to discussing the contentious figures in Miami sports history, Jeffrey Loria’s name often arises like a polarizing spin at the slots in the best casino in the Netherlands. His tenure as the owner of the Miami Marlins was marked by controversy and mixed emotions, much like the unpredictability of a slot machine’s outcome. While some may argue that Loria’s involvement brought attention and even success to the team, others view his actions as detrimental to the Marlins and the city of Miami.
This piece told me about easy-to-find posts and sites, which was very helpful