Who is both loved and was good?
I’m lifting this idea shamelessly from /r/azdiamondbacks, but figured it would be interesting to do it here, and see if the players chosen to fill the grid on the SnakePit end up being the same or different. There are nine spaces, with one selection for each spot, who best represents BOTH elements, during their time with Arizona. For example, the top-left square would be a player who most epitomizes not just being good for the D-backs, but being loved by fans as well. We’ll adopt the same procedure for this, as we did when selecting nominees for the SnakePit Awards. To wit:
- Go to the comments section.
- If your choice is already mentioned there, give it a “rec”.
- If your choice is NOT mentioned, leave their name as a new comment, and make your case for them.
- One nomination per comment
- Duplicate nominations will get deleted.
- Whoever gets the most recs wins the square. I’ll used my executive power to decide any ties.
Thoughts on this category
There are a total of six players who have put up more than 20 bWAR in their time with Arizona: three position players and three pitchers. That’s an arbitrary cut-off to be sure, and I would be prepared to hear arguments for those who just missed out, such as Zac Gallen (18.2 bWAR, and likely to cross the line this year, health permitting). But the six are as follows. On the position player side, Paul Goldschmidt, Luis Gonzalez and Ketel Marte. Among the pitchers, it’s Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb and Curt Schilling. All of these would, I think, qualify as “good” enough for the purposes of this exercise. But when you add in the concept of fan love, things become more complicated.
That’s especially true on the pitching side. Johnson was, quite likely, the best player yet to pull on a D-backs uniform. But was he loved by fans? Respected, certainly. Feared, if some of the stories of fan interactions I’ve heard are true, and it’s inarguable that his sheer height made him an intimidating figure. Webb has remained a presence in the broadcast booth, and I still possess my vintage #17 jersey, bought in his honor. Schilling has managed, one way or another, to piss off a lot of people in the years since, and despite his key role in the 2001 World Series win, I’d be hard-pushed to call him “loved” by the fanbase as a whole.
On the position player side, there are few such qualms. Gonzo will never have to buy a drink in the state again, having delivered the hit which won the Diamondbacks the World Series. Despite six consecutive All-Star appearances, Goldy was widely regarded as one of baseball’s most under-rated players, in part because of his blue-collar approach to the game: show up, and do your job, without making any fuss about it. He has been gone for more than six years, but is still beloved, as the interest in him still returning shows. And Marte has to be considered the captain of the “New Diamondbacks”, the linchpin around which the team revolves.
A lot of interesting possibilities, and should make for an interesting discussion. I’ll give it a few days, and we’ll move on the next grid whenever I need something for an empty day. 🙂