This was something entirely new. The Florida Marlins were added as an expansion team in 1993, and not only were they in the playoffs in their fourth opportunity (1994 excluded), but they also were on their way to the first world championship for a Wild Card. They were managed by Jim Leyland, who had come close-but-no-cigar with Pittsburgh three straight years at the start of this decade, and now he was managing against his star (Barry Bonds).

The series also had something old, as it marked the final postseason action for 3Com Park, aka Candlestick Park. Dusty Baker's San Francisco Giants were back in a postseason for the first time since the 1989 Bay Bridge Series, when that ballpark was the site of a Game 3 interruption caused by the tragic Loma Prieta Earthquake. The Giants also were still looking for their first World Series title since the 1954 New York Giants.

In Miami, postseason baseball came to multi-sport Pro Player Stadium in Miami for the first time, and the Marlins put on a show by winning both of the first two games in walk-off fashion. Edgar Renteria -- in an omen of how this season would end -- singled off Roberto Hernandez to score Charles Johnson with two out in the ninth for a 2-1 win in the opener. In Game 2, it happened to Hernandez again, this time with Moises Alou singling in Gary Sheffield for a 7-6 winner (as Dante Powell's throw home hit the mound) to send the series over to the West Coast.

Devon White, who had helped Toronto to the 1992-93 World Series titles, was a key contributor for the Marlins on his way to what would be a third ring. His grand slam off Wilson Alvarez in the sixth inning of Game 3 at 3Com Park allowed the Marlins to clinch easily, on the way to an NLCS against Atlanta.

Path to the NLDS: Florida (92-70) won the NL Wild Card; San Francisco (90-72) won the NL West by two games

Managers: Jim Leyland, FLA; Dusty Baker, SF