The history of the Miami Marlins isn't just about tough seasons and constant rebuilding, despite what some critics might argue; the team has a championship past.

With two World Series winners who appeared like a flash of lightning and then settled after the storm of a special season, there come a lot of memories and what-ifs. The 1997 Marlins were an example of that, as they gave the city its first taste of MLB title glory. Assembled from high-priced veterans who used the 305 as a stopover territory, they delivered a lot of magic and glory, albeit only for a short while.

It's still remembered as a magical time for baseball in a city that waited for years to land another franchise after having only the NFL's Dolphins to root for. That lasted for 22 years until the NBA expansion Heat arrived in 1988. The Marlins and the NHL's Panthers would be hatched in Miami in 1993.

30 years ago this winter, after a handful of losing efforts, the team got aggressive during the '96 offseason and went shopping for success. That year, the team had finished 82-90 (the exact same record as this year's Miami group), but had still never produced a winning season in the franchise's history.

That was about to change. Buoyed by the team's encouraging mark in the '96 campaign, owner H. Wayne Huizenga decided to loosen up the purse strings. And while he didn't give general manager Dave Dombrowski a completely open checkbook, he did allow his executive to pick the lock on it when needed.

Dombrowski went to work in a big, big way, and he already had a lot to work with before he even got started. The Marlins had a roster of successful players in place, with stars like Kevin Brown and Al Leiter in the rotation, while Gary Sheffield, Jeff Conine, Charles Johnson, Edgar Renteria, and the emerging Luis Castillo were the backbone of the everyday lineup.

The team's philosophy shifted into high gear, with a focus on winning immediately. They immediately hired former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland, considered on of the sharpest and toughest veteran skippers in the game at that time. That provided them with a leader that even a veteran squad would respect.

From there, Miami signed right-hander Alex Fernandez to a five-year, $35 million contract. Then, they added Bobby Bonilla to a four-year, $23.3 million contract and Moises Alou to a five-year, $25 million deal.

At that time, the baseball world began to sit up and take notice. The former expansion also-ran was now assembling a dangerous contender. One that looked like it had been plugged from a catalog, with the Fish getting their every wish over the Winter.

After all those moves, they would go on to have the season of a lifetime. The 1997 Marlins went 92-70 in the regular season, captured the National League Wild Card and ultimately became the youngest expansion franchise to win a World Series by defeating the then-Cleveland Indians in seven games.

It only lasted a year, as the team was disassembled immediately, piece by piece, as the team fell back into obscurity in short order. In 1998, with major names being traded off or signing elsewhere, the Marlins dropped to a miserable 54-108. However the title team provided a flash in Florida for a while, all due to a 1996 offseason that saw the franchise go for it all.