Report: Marlins fired TV analyst due to negativity toward team

Former Miami Marlins analyst Tommy Hutton was at times critical of the team during his 19-year career, and that reportedly cost him his job.

The highly popular broadcaster was surprisingly dropped by FOX Sports Florida earlier this week when he was told that the company had decided to go in a different direction. Though he was not told explicitly the reason behind his removal, one source told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that the team believed Hutton was too negative toward the organization when calling games.

Hutton admitted there were times when he may have appeared critical, but believes nothing he said was outside the boundaries of what was expected in his job.

"I know there were times I was negative, but I thought those times were called for," Hutton told Jackson. "Ninety percent of what I said was positive. I tried not to be a homer, but you could tell I wanted the Marlins to do well."

Hutton described three incidents to Jackson in which a Marlins employee suggested they were uncomfortable with something he said, with one involving criticisms of the then-brand new Marlins Park:

That one involved former Marlins catcher John Buck. When Buck flied out to the deepest part of Marlins Park to end a game, Hutton shouted, "In any other park!" - meaning the ball would have been a home run in a stadium with more hitter-friendly dimensions.

He said a Marlins vice president called him after the game and said that owner Jeffrey Loria prefer he not mention the ballpark’s dimensions.

"Did I complain about the park being too big? Yeah," Hutton said, noting the dimensions are being changed this offseason. "But if that was the reason, they knew that the day after the season. I didn't say anything negative the last six weeks."

The Marlins have yet to name a replacement for Hutton, who has stated that he has no plans of retiring.