(Note:  Dolphin Stadium was renamed "Land Shark Stadium" on Friday May 15th, 2009.

This is a naming rights deal with Land Shark Beer, Anheiser Busch, and Jimmy Buffet)

The Florida Marlins have been my favorite baseball team since their inception and inaugural season in 1993. I still remember my first game, a double-header against the Giants and we sat in a sky box. And I still remember how massive and inappropriate Dolphin Stadium (ne Dolphins Stadium, ne Pro Player Stadium, ne Joe Robbie Stadium) was for America's Pastime. You'd think that in 15 years there something would have been done about constant rain delays and lack of attendance. You'd be wrong.

Dolphin Stadium sits on a sprawling piece of land adjacent to Florida's turnpike and during Dolphins home games the parking lot resembles a sea of shiny metal to passers-byes. Unfortunately when it's baseball season you can almost count every blade of grass in the parking lot as only about 10% of the parking area is taken up, equating to the lowest average attendance in baseball inside the stadium. In fact, Dolphin Stadium states it can now hold 36,331 fans for baseball, down greatly from an original number of 47,662 when the stadium opened for baseball in 1993, and 42,531 when adjusted in 2001. Ballparks.com reports that the Marlins don't even open the upper deck for regular season games anymore because there just isn't a reason to. No one goes.

That's not to say there aren't Florida Marlins fans. There are. I am friends with guys who have had season tickets since day one. But to most people the stadium is too far north or too far south, depending on where you live in South Florida, to go to a game. And if the new stadium is ever built at the site of the old Orange Bowl in the heart of Miami, it will be even more difficult for fans from Palm Beach County to make that drive. But we need to talk about the real reason the Marlins have no sizeable fan attendance at Dolphin Stadium, the weather.

Florida weather, during baseball season, is as predictable as the Florida Lottery. You know the numbers will be called, but you have no idea if they'll be yours. And in South Florida in the summer you know it's going to rain, but you're never really sure when and how much. Not to mention that when it's sunny, it's friggin' hot! And Dolphin Stadium does not have a lot of protection from the elements. That's why if there is a saving grace for professional baseball in South Florida the Marlins will need that new ballpark, and it will have to have a retractable roof.

But back to Dolphin Stadium as it is now. As I've stated, it is primarily a football stadium for a primarily football-centric market. Yes, the Marlins have won more World Series titles in their short history then most of the teams in the Majors, and two more championships than the Dolphins have won in the past 35 years. Yet when the Marlins have won they have sold off their talent and forced fans to rethink their loyalty to mega-rich owners. No stadium could protect its team from that kind of bad publicity, not even a brand new one. But all the Fish have now is Dolphin Stadium, with its wide concourses and bright orange seats. The ballpark itself is not hitter friendly, though these young no-names with the lowest payroll in baseball are not only still in contention for the National League East Pennant, but lead the Majors in homeruns. Not bad for a ballpark complete with a "Teal Monster" and dimensions that read 335 feet to left (plus 33 feet of wall straight up), 385 feet to power alleys, 345 feet to right, and 410 feet to a crooked center field wall. It is not a fun park for hitters and those deep pockets of open space make it a challenging task for outfielders, too.

And it gets worse. Once Dolphins season starts the Marlins have another challenge, playing on a field that gets tore up by footballers. Of course it's harder on the Fins as they have to play football while the infield clay is still present.

I know from experience that Dolphins Stadium has been a place of many exciting moments for the Marlins and the fans that have attended the games. But it really falls short in every way, and if the Marlins were taken away tomorrow no one would have the right to be angry because despite everything the fans just aren't showing up. Case in point, the Nationals and Marlins played a weekday game last summer and announced attendance was just over two thousand. Counted attendance: 276 sweat-laden bodies. It's embarrassing to the Marlins and baseball.

I can't even in good conscience give Dolphin Stadium a base hit on my rating scale of ballparks (Single, Double, Triple, Home Run). I'd equate the effort here to a check swing foul, or at best, drag bunt for an out. The Fish are my favorite team, but their ballpark is the worst.