The only other time an incumbent manager of the year has gotten the boot was 1997, when the Orioles axed Davey Johnson.
Then again, the Marlins don't operate like most other teams. When the Fish won their second world championship in 2003, it also represented just the second winning season in franchise history.
They have also conducted two almost-everything-must-go fire sales in the last decade.
Florida will have one of baseball's lowest payrolls again this year with almost half of it going to just two players, third baseman Miguel Cabrera and lefthander Dontrelle Willis.
And changing managers is hardly something new. Gonzales will be the sixth skipper in the last 7 years.
Fortunately for him, there is one part of his resume that is uniquely suited to the task in front of him.
The Marlins used 22 rookies last season, all but one before rosters were expanded in September. And the kids were all right. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez was named NL Rookie of the Year while second baseman Dan Uggla, righthander Josh Johnson, lefthander Scott Olsen, righthander Anibal Sanchez and leftfielder Josh Willingham all received votes.
Now the challenge is to keep them from becoming complacent or falling victim to the dreaded sophomore slump.
And Gonzalez has had a firsthand look at what can happen to a team that gets an unexpected boost from young players.
Before being hired to replace Girardi, Gonzalez was third-base coach for the Braves for 4 years. In that capacity, he watched Atlanta repeatedly reach down to Triple A Richmond to plug holes caused by injuries on the way to winning a 14th straight division title in 2005 . . . only to see the streak end last season when some of the same youngsters were unable to replicate their early success.
And what did that teach him?
