Regular Season Roster Additions That Led To Local Championships

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Adding players to a team's roster during the regular season can play a major part in making a championship run.

While it's not an imperative thing as some teams don't like to disrupt the makeup of their roster, most of the time there is at least one player added during the season who ends up playing a big part in winning a title.

In the past couple decades South Florida has enjoyed several championship teams.

Some of those teams featured a player who was added during the regular season that became an important contributor during the playoffs.

1996 Florida Panthers- Ray Sheppard (trade)

Sheppard added 10 points (8g 2a) in 14 regular season games and another 16 points (8g 8a) in 21 playoff games. (Source: Glenn Cratty /Allsport)

Editors note- Yes, I know the '96 Panthers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals but I'm including them anyway because of what a major (and pleasantly surprising) accomplishment it was for the third year franchise.

1997 Florida Marlins- Craig Counsell (trade)

Counsell was added at the trade deadline and played a huge role in the World Series, hitting the game tying sac fly in the 9th inning of Game 7, then scoring the winning run in the 11th inning. (Source: JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)

1997 Florida Marlins- Livan Hernandez (call up)

Livan was a perfect 4-0 in the '97 Postseason. He was named MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series, striking out 26 batters in his five playoff appearances. (Source: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

2003 Florida Marlins- Miguel Cabrera (call up)

Cabrera hit 4 home runs and had 12 RBI's during the 2003 postseason, including a big first inning homer off Roger Clemens in Game 3 of the World Series. (Source: Elsa/Getty Images)

2013 Miami Heat- Chris 'Birdman' Andersen (mid-season signing)

Andersen played a huge role off the bench for the Heat, shooting a whopping 80.7% while adding 3.2 rebounds and over a block per game during the playoffs. (Source: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

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