And then there were five… Um, six.
Thanks for all who chipped in during the nomination part of the process. In the end, I decided to go with six nominees, because why not. They all had something worth celebrating. Oddly, they all came from the second half of the season, with all but one from July and August. Or perhaps, not so oddly, considering those were easily the D-backs’ best two months of the season. Arizona went a combined 35-17 in them, which may be best consecutive months in franchise history. They had a 37-14 spell from June 29-August 28, which was the best record over 51 games, basically since late 1999.
Anyway, here are the six entries, with a little blurb about each.
July 11: Jake McCarthy robs a homer from Matt Olson in the 9th
Nominated by AZNailgal520: “That was during Sewalds “probationary” period and if not for that spectacular catch by Jake, would’ve been another loss by Paul Sewage.” It would certainly have been a blown save, helping preserve a shutout in a 1-0 win over the Braves. Though Jake down-played its awesomeness: “Good to help out our pitchers. I think it was probably an overrated catch. I was in position. All I had to do was jump a little bit and reach over the fence. I’m just happy, it was a big situation for it… It was a pretty high fly ball. I think I was pretty deep too so it’s not like I was sprinting. I hit the wall, I was kind of there for a second. Again, like I get the moment but I think a play like that is kind of a little overrated.”
July 21: Christian Walker unassisted putout on Pete Crow-Armstrong drag bunt
Nominated by Diamondhacks: “Note Berthiame’s missed initial call “nobody’s there”, Brenly’s reaction and finally the speedy runner’s reaction at about the 16 second mark.” As LeftFieldCorNWer then noted, Berthiaume “missed the initial call but totally made up for it with the punch line at the end: “Just send the third straight Golden Glove in the mail tomorrow.”” And so, it proved, Walker indeed winning the Gold Glove at first-base. He’s now a free-agent, and if Christian doesn’t return to Arizona, it’s no exaggeration to say that plays like the one above are going to be every bit as missed as the home-runs and RBI Walker has provided the D-backs over the years.
August 7: Corbin Carroll makes incredible catch, throw home
Nominated by BeaTenBaseball: “Perfect throw and tag to get speedy runner.” Carroll often came in for a bit of criticism in regard to his defense, but he certainly make his share of excellent plays as well. This one had three good elements, combining to form an excellent play. Firstly, Carroll snagging the ball in a way which allowed him to pop back up to his feet quickly. Then there was the strong throw on a line to home-plate. As noted, the runner, Daniel Schneeman is fast – he was fourth-quickest on the Guardians, a sprint speed of 28.3 ft/s which is quicker than Alek Thomas (27.8). Then there’s an excellent tag by catcher Jose Herrera. All-round good work.
August 9: Adrian Del Castillo walk-off HR vs Phillies
Nominated by Webb_Gemz: Until this hit, no Arizona Diamondback had ever opened their home-run account with a walk-off shot. In only his second major-league contest, and first at Chase Field, Del Castillo did exactly that. He wasted no time, tagging All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman with a one-pitch loss, by sending the first (and only) offering in the ninth inning to the bleachers. Not bad, for someone who was an emergency call-up after Gabriel Moreno went on the IL. Del Castillo gave credit to teammate Gerardo Perdomo after the game, saying that Perdomo told him Hoffman throws a lot of fastballs. Adrian did not miss, and Torey Lovullo added, “It’s a walk-off in a pennant race. It doesn’t get any better.”
August 24: Luis Guillorme’s sensational play
Nominated by 1AZfan1: “As Self-Appointed President of the Guillorme Fan Club, I’d like to nominate Guillorme’s sensational play from August 24. You can close the nominations. I’d like to thank everybody who lost. ” Luis only played eighteen games for Arizona: I’m not sure any nominee has made fewer appearances. But he certainly delivered in quality. after coming over from the Angels in mid-August. He (briefly) saved Justin Martinez’s bacon with this play on August 31, But a week previously, at Fenway, he made an even more brilliant dive, then threw the runner out from a position usually seen only in yoga tutorials. Wherever he might go in future, we’ll always have this one.
September 14: D-backs use trick play to nab Garrett Mitchell
Nominated by JustRonn: “You almost never see these, and they pulled it off to perfection.” MLB have gradually been tightening up the rules on pickoffs: the old “fake to third, throw to first” move is now a balk, and pitchers are now limited in the number of throws over. But they can still play their part, and Brandon Pfaadt did so brilliantly here. With runners on the corners, a double-steal seemed in order. Del Castillo threw towards second, and the runner on third broke for home. But Pfaadt cut off the throw and threw a laser over to Guillorme, who applied the tag before the runner could dive desperately back to the bag. Teamwork truly making the dream work there.
The poll is below. Six worthy candidates, I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them prevailed! But there can be only one, as the great philosopher Connor McLeod once said. So vote below, explain why in the comments, and I’ll have the winner on Sunday!