The Associated Press

JUPITER, Fla. - Jack McKeon stepped outside Monday, squinted at the winter sun and realized he had forgotten his cap and sunglasses. So he doubled back into the Florida Marlins' clubhouse to fetch them and re-emerged with a smile.

"Now I look official," he said.

The manager of the defending World Series champions presided as his team began spring training drills for pitchers and catchers.

Series MVP Josh Beckett, 2003 NL Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis and new closer Armando Benitez were among those taking 10-minute turns on the mound. Pitchers fielded ground balls, much like the slow roller Beckett scooped up before tagging Jorge Posada for the final out last October. Jeff Cox, the Marlins' 47-year-old third-base coach, provided comic relief with a fiery demonstration of baserunning that included a headfirst slide.

Among the everyday players reporting early was third baseman Mike Lowell, who studied a huge stack of fan mail that accumulated during the offseason and wondered how to answer it all.

"That," he said, "is a tall order."

So is the challenge of repeating as World Series champs.

The only National League team to do so since 1922 was Cincinnati in 1975-76.

"I think the guys are motivated," McKeon said. "They realize all the good things that happened and the reason they came about. I think what we did in the playoffs will have a big carryover effect. Confidence won't be a problem. But the other clubs will have something to say about it, too."

With the regular season six weeks away, the Marlins still have some time to savor last season. The workout Monday was their first since completing an improbable run to the title by beating the New York Yankees.

"It's fun," reliever Chad Fox said as he looked around the clubhouse. "For 99 percent of us, this will be once in a lifetime to walk through the doors as defending World Series champions.

"You've got to enjoy it and realize what we did was special. But when we go out there, we've got to work harder, because people are going to be shooting for us now. And that's what we want."

The Marlins' only previous winning season came in 1997, when they also won the World Series. That team was quickly dismantled, and Florida went 54-108 the following year, the worst record for a defending Series winner.

This time the champions return largely intact. The biggest changes will be Ramon Castro replacing Ivan Rodriguez at catcher, Hee Seop Choi replacing Derrek Lee at first base, and Benitez replacing Ugueth Urbina as the closer.

Florida still has a talented rotation, and right-hander A.J. Burnett - who led the major leagues with five shutouts in 2002 - could return in May from reconstructive elbow surgery.

But with offseason upgrades by Houston, Philadelphia and the Chicago Cubs, the Marlins are hardly considered the team to beat.

"We like being the underdog," McKeon said.

There's lingering evidence of the bandwagon that burgeoned late last season. Drills Monday drew several hundred spectators, much more than the norm for a Marlins workout in February. Two autograph seekers were waiting when McKeon arrived at the training complex - at 6:15 a.m.