Florida Marlins (1993–1997) 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 in a 6–3 victory against the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Conine played the full 162 game schedule in
left field his rookie season. He batted .292 with 12 home runs and 79 RBIs to earn a third-place finish in National League
Rookie of the Year balloting. 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 and won the MVP award. For the season, he finished fourth in the league with a career-high 105 RBIs with a .302 batting average and 25 home runs. In 1996, Conine had 26 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a .293 batting average. the Marlins defeated their division rival Braves in the
1997 National League Championship Series, four games to two. Conine's seventh inning
single provided the game-winning RBI in game five of the series. The Marlins beat
Cleveland in a seven-game World Series to break the 1969 New York Mets' record as the youngest expansion franchise to ever win a World Series title. Conine batted .214 with no home runs, three RBIs and five runs scored in his first postseason. Immediately after winning the World Series, Marlins owner
Wayne Huizenga dismantled his club, claiming financial losses despite having won the World Series. As part of the "
fire sale" of his franchise's best players, Conine was shipped back to the Kansas City Royals for minor league pitcher Blaine Mull. At the time of his departure, Conine held the franchise records for
hits, RBIs and games played.
Baltimore Orioles (1999–2003) Chronic back pain limited Conine to 93 games with the Royals in 1998. Following just one season back in Kansas City, the Royals traded him to the
Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher
Chris Fussell. Conine returned healthy, and enjoyed a resurgence with Baltimore, as he batted .291 with 13 home runs and 75 RBI in 1999. Conine batted .239 with five home runs and fifteen RBIs over 25 games back in Florida, and the Marlins returned to the postseason for the second time in franchise history. against the
Chicago Cubs, and batted .333 in the World Series against the
New York Yankees. He is the only player to appear in the opener of the
Marlins' inaugural season, the
1997 World Series Marlins' championship team, and the
2003 World Series Marlins' championship team. He remained with the club through the 2005 season. He returned to the Baltimore Orioles via free agency in 2006. Conine's role was to serve as a right-handed bat off the bench. Though Philadelphia failed to make the playoffs, Conine proved a solid addition, batting .280 with seventeen RBIs in 28 games. Platooning with
Scott Hatteberg at first base, Conine batted .265 with six home runs and 32 RBIs over eighty games. His .409 batting average and four RBIs in 22 pinch hit at-bats made him an attractive player to the New York Mets, who were looking to add depth to their bench. On August 20, 2007, Conine was traded to the Mets for minor leaguers Sean Henry and Jose Castro. Though he hit an RBI single in his first at-bat as a Met, he proved less successful in that role with the Mets, batting just .195 over 21 games with his new club. The Marlins held a tribute to Conine before their home opener against the Mets on March 31. He batted .290 over his career with the Marlins with 120 home runs and 553 RBIs. He holds the franchise mark for
grand slam home runs with six. In 2012, Conine debuted on the
Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. He received no votes and was removed from the ballot the next year. ==Post-career==