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The Arizona Diamondbacks were introduced as
an expansion team in 1998.
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They play their games at Chase Field in downtown
Phoenix.
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Their name comes from the “Western
diamondback” a rattlesnake native to the region known for injecting a large
amount of venom when it strikes. It was the winning entry for a “name the team
contest” that was in the sports section of the Arizona Republic in 1995.
·
They have made the playoffs six times with
five being division tiles and one being a wild card berth.
·
They have won one NL Pennant and one World
Series both in 2001.
Batting
Lineup:
1. SS
Tony Womack
2. 2B
Orlando Hudson
3. LF
Luis Gonzalez
4. RF
Justin Upton
5. DH
Conor Jackson
6. 3B
Matt Williams
7. 1B
Mark Grace
8. C
Miguel Montero
9.
CF Steve Finley
Pitching Staff:
3. Brandon Webb
5. Dan Haren
Bullpen:
1. Closer:
Byung Hyun Kim
3. Brad Ziegler
4. JJ Putz
6. Matt Mantei
Bench:
OF-Eric Byrnes
OF-Eric Byrnes
INF-Craig Counsell
INF-Stephen Drew
Coaching Staff:
Manager-Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson managed the Diamondbacks for five seasons where he finished with the most wins in their history with 353. He guided them to one NL West division title and won manager of the year once.
Bench Coach-Buck Showalter
Buck Showalter managed Diamondbacks for three years and finished with
the fifth most wins with 240. He was their first manager history and was hired
two years before the team was scheduled to begin play in order to take a more
active role in developing the eventual roster. He guided them to one NL west title,
making them one of the fastest expansion teams to win a division title. Bob
1B Coach-Bob Melvin
Bob Melvin managed the Diamondbacks for five years where he finished
with second most wins with 337. He also guided them to one NL west title in with
the best record in the NL and won NL manager of the year once. He was the
bench coach when they won the World Series in 2001.
3B Coach-Bob Brenly
Bob Brenly managed the Diamondbacks for four years where he finished the
third most wins with 303. He guided them to two NL west division titles, one NL
Pennant and the World Series Championship 2001.
Hitting Coach-Torey Lovullo
Torey Lovullo has managed the Diamondbacks for three seasons where he
already has the fourth most wins with 260. He also won NL manager of the year
once and took them to the playoffs once as wild card
Pitching Coach-Bob Welch
Bob Welch a former pitcher was the pitching coach when the Diamondbacks
won the World Series in 2001.
Bullpen Coach-Glenn Sherlock
Glenn Sherlock has been the bullpen coach fifteen times and worked for
eight different managers in his 19 seasons on the Diamondbacks MLB staff.
The Diamondbacks have had three Hall of Fame players who have played for
them at different points in their respective careers. They have two retired
numbers for players.
Randy
Johnson pitched eight seasons for the Diamondbacks as their greatest pitcher where he put
numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in
2015 and they retired his 51. He made five of his ten All-Star appearances, won
the NL CY Young award four straight years, won the pitching Triple Crown once,
led the majors in wins once, led the NL in ERA three times, led the NL in
strikeouts five times, pitched a perfect game, pitched a no-hitter, was on the
2001 World Series Championship team and was the Co-MVP of the 2001 World Series Championship while there.
He finished as the franchise leader in many categories in Diamondbacks history
like having the most wins, highest WAR for pitchers, most strikeouts, lowest
ERA, most games started, innings pitched, complete games and shutouts.
Curt Schilling pitched four seasons for the Diamondbacks where he put up
numbers that speak for themselves that should get him elected into the Hall of
Fame eventually. He made two of his six All-Star appearances, led the majors in
wins twice, won the Roberto Clemente award, won the Branch Rickey Award, was on the 2001 World Series
Championship team and was the Co-MVP in the 2001 World Series Championship
while there. He also finished in top 10 for many pitching categories in
Diamondbacks history like having the second lowest ERA, third highest WAR for
pitchers, second most complete games, third most shutouts and best win-loss
percentage to name some.
Luis Gonzalez spent eight seasons in leftfield for the Diamondbacks as their
greatest player/greatest outfielder/longest tenured outfielder where he made
all five of his All-Star appearances, won his only silver slugger, is most remembered for hitting a game-winning single
in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series to give
the Arizona their first World Championship and his number is retired. He also
finished as the franchise leader in Diamondbacks history for many offensive categories
likes having the highest batting average, the most games played, hits,
doubles, homeruns, runs scored, RBIs, at bats, plate appearances, singles,
extra base hits and total bases.
Justin Upton spent six seasons in right field for the Diamondbacks as their
longest tenured/best right fielder where he won one of his three silver slugger
and made had two of his four All-Star appearances while there. In his rookie
year he help lead his team to a sweep of the Cubs during the NLCS and finished
the playoffs with a .357 batting average and a .571 slugging percentage. He
also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Diamondbacks history
like having the fifth highest on base percentage, fifth most runs scored, sixth
highest WAR for position players, sixth highest offensive WAR, sixth highest
slugging percentage, sixth most stolen base, walks and home runs to name some.
Steve
Finley spent six seasons for the Diamondbacks as their greatest
center fielder where he made one of his two All-Star appearances, won three of
his five gold gloves and was on the 2001 World Series Championship team while
there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Diamondbacks
history like having the third highest slugging percentage, the third highest
offensive WAR, fourth highest WAR for position players, third most runs scored,
hits, total bases, home runs and RBIs to name some.
Matt
Williams spent six seasons for the Diamondbacks as their greatest/longest tenured
third basemen where he made one of his five All-Star appearances and was on the
2001 World Series Championship team while there. He was also on the coaching
staff for five years. He finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories
in Diamondbacks history like having the sixth most RBIs, seven most home runs,
seventh highest slugging percentage, and ninth most total bases to name some.
Mark
Grace spent three seasons at first base for the Diamondbacks where he was on
the 2001 World Series Championship and was the hitting coach for one season in
their minor leagues plus two seasons on the major league staff. He belted a
home run in Game 4 of the World Series and led off the bottom of the 9th inning
with a single off Yankee pitcher Mariano
Rivera, which rallied the Arizona Diamondbacks to a come-from-behind
victory in Game 7. His .515 batting average in League Championship Series play
is a record for players in at least ten games.
Orlando
Hudson spent three seasons for the Diamondbacks as their greatest second basemen
where he made one of his two All-Star appearances, two of his four gold gloves,
a fielding bible award once and had career highs in batting average, homeruns,
RBIs and runs scored while there. He also finished with the third highest on
base percentage, fourth highest batting average and the ninth highest defensive
WAR in Diamondbacks history.
Tony
Womack spent five seasons for the Diamondbacks at shortstop, second base and
the outfield where led the NL in stolen bases once while there and was on the
2001 World Series Championship team. He also finished in the top 10 for many
offensive categories in Diamondbacks history like having the most stolen bases,
second most triples, the third most singles and the seventh most runs score to
name some.
Miguel
Montero spent nine seasons behind the plate for the Diamondbacks as their
greatest/longest tenured catcher where he both of his All-Star appearances and
caught Edwin Jackson’s no hitter while there. He also finished in the top 10 for
many offensive categories in Diamondbacks history like having the with him
having the third most games played, fourth most RBIs, hits, singles, four
highest offensive WAR, seventh highest WAR for position players and eight
highest WAR for defense to name some.
Connor Jackson spent six seasons at both first base and the outfield for
the Diamondbacks as their second longest tenured first basemen where he finished
with the fourth highest on base percentage in Diamondbacks history.
Brandon Webb pitched seven seasons for the Diamondbacks where won the NL
CY Young award once, made three All Star appearances, and led the NL in wins
twice while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories like
having the second most wins, strikeouts, shutouts, innings pitched, WAR for
pitchers, games started, third lowest ERA and the third most complete games to
name some. He is one of the biggest ifs in history about where his career as a
whole could have gone if he stayed healthy but will always be remembered the
third best pitcher in Diamondbacks history.
Brian Anderson pitched five seasons for the Diamondbacks where he was on
the 2001 World Series Championship team while there. He also finished in the
top 10 for many pitching categories in Diamondbacks history like having the fourth
most shutouts, complete games, innings pitched and the eight most wins to name
some.
Dan Haren pitched three seasons for the Diamondbacks where he made two
of his three All-Star appearances while there. He also finished in the top 10
for many pitching categories in Diamondbacks history like having the fifth highest
WAR for pitchers, fifth highest win-loss percentage, sixth lowest ERA and eight
most strikeouts to name some. Another notable starter in Diamondbacks history was Miguel Bautista.
Eric Byrnes spent four seasons in the outfield for the Diamondbacks
where he won a Fielding Bible Award once, is one of
a few players to have 50 stolen bases and hit 20 home runs in one season while
there. He also has fifth most stolen bases in Diamondbacks history.
Danny
Bautista spent five seasons in the outfield for the Diamondbacks where he was
on the 2001 World Series Championship team and his batting average of. 583 in
the World Series is fifth all-time in a single World Series He also has the
third highest best batting average and the tenth highest on base percentage in
Diamondbacks history. Other notable outfielders in Diamondbacks history have
been Shawn Green, active outfielders Chris Young, David Peralta, AJ Pollock and
Gerardo Parra.
Stephen
Drew spent six seasons for the Diamondbacks as their longest tenured shortstop
where he hit for the cycle in 2008 the first in Chase Field history. He also
finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Diamondbacks history
with him having the most triples, fourth most doubles, fifth total bases, extra
base hits, hits, sixth highest defensive WAR, seventh highest offensive WAR and
the eight highest for position players to name some.
Craig Counsell spent six seasons all over the infield for the
Diamondbacks where he won the 2001 NLCS MVP and was on the 2001 World Series Championship
team. He also was hit by a pitch by Mariano
Rivera to load the bases which set up Gonzalez to hit the game winning single
in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 2001 World
Series to win it all. He finished in the top 10 for many offensive
categories in Diamondbacks history like having the second highest defensive
WAR, the eight highest on base percentage, eight most walks and singles to name
some. Other notable infielders in Diamondbacks history have been Junior Spivey, Jay Bell, Aaron Hill, Alex Cintron, Kelly Johnson, active players Mark Reynolds and Paul Goldschmidt.
Damian Miller spent five seasons behind the plate for the Diamondbacks
as their second longest tenured where he made his only All-Star appearance and
was the starting catcher on the 2001 World Series Championship team.
Byung
Hyun Kim was the Diamondbacks closer for six seasons where he made his only
All-Star appearance and was on the 2001 World Series Championship team where he
became first Asian-born and Korean-born baseball player to appear and win a
World Series title while there. He also became the first pitcher since Goose Gossage to
earn two-inning saves on back-to-back days in the postseason. He finished with
the second most games finished, the four most saves, the sixth most games
played and the tenth best WAR for pitcher in Diamondbacks history.
Jose
Valverde was the Diamondbacks closer for five seasons where made one of his three
All-Star appearance, won reliever of the year once and led the majors in saves
once while there. He also finished with the most saves, games finished and the fourth
most games played in Diamondbacks history.
Brad
Ziegler spent seven seasons in the bullpen for the Diamondbacks where he
finished with the most games played, third most games finished and fifth most
saves Diamondbacks history while there.
JJ Putz spent four seasons as the Diamondbacks closer where he finished
with second most saves and the fifth most games played in Diamondbacks history
while there. He currently is a special
assistant to club president for them.
Greg Swindell spent four seasons in the Diamondbacks bullpen where he
was on the 2001 World Series Championship team and finished the tenth most games
played in Diamondbacks history while there.
Matt Mantei spent five seasons in the Diamondbacks bullpen where he was
on the 2001 World Series Championship team and he finished with the third most
saves and fourth most games finished in Diamondbacks history while there. Other notable relievers in Diamondbacks history have been Gregg Olson,
Brandon Lyon and Chad Qualls to name some.
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