Wondering what those Q’s are in left field at Dolphin Stadium during Marlins games? No, they’re not some obscure translation of the K’s that represent strikeouts.

Marlins fans sitting in the power alley are keeping track of yet another baseball stat -- what’s being called “Quick Outs” – outs recorded in three pitches or fewer. Nancy Olson, executive director of the Marlins Community Foundation, who came up with the idea, has a group of loyal foundation volunteers putting up a white sign featuring a black ‘Q’ every time a Marlins’ pitcher records a quick out. There’s one teal sign that’s used to delineate when a relief pitcher comes into the game. (See photo by Kelly Gavin, courtesy of the Marlins). The radio and TV broadcasters are aware of it -- and even asked that the Q's be clumped in sets of three to make it easier to keep track of them, Olson said.

Olson was urged by her brother, who saw Q’s at Arizona Diamondbacks games, to adopt the idea as a fundraiser for the foundation. Olson is hoping to secure a corporate sponsor, which would get its name on the Q’s -- and she hopes make a donation to the foundation either on a per game or per Q basis.

The team has 20 Q’s, which is typically plenty for a game, but when Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds stretched to 14 innings, the supply just ran out, Olson said.

Perhaps a sponsor will help pay for more signs, too. Some ideas for potential sponsors? A couple of suggestions I’ve heard are Sir Speedy and Jiffy Lube.

But what about the Nasdaq-100, former title sponsor of the tennis tournament on Key Biscayne? The Nasdaq-100 is an exchange traded fund similar to a mutual fund, but trades like a stock. It holds shares of the 100 largest companies on the world’s largest electronic stock market. Its ticker symbol? QQQ.