Arizona Diamondbacks: The all-time bracket
The Arizona Diamondbacks have produced one World Series winner. But there are other contenders, including some from the team’s recent history.
At first glance, an Arizona Diamondbacks franchise bracket would appear to come down to whether any team could challenge the franchise’s only World Series winners.
After all, the 2001 D-Backs had a couple of pretty good aces at the top of the rotation in Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. They also had hitting that was clutch enough to carry them past a strong New York Yankees team in seven games.
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Thus they enter the bracket as strong favorites.
Yet there are potential hurdles. The 1999 team won the franchise’s first National; League pennant, and did so in only Arizona’s second season. It also actually won a franchise-record 100 games, eight more than the 2001 champions.
The 2017 post-season team also cannot be ignored. The 2017 club featured Paul Goldschmidt at first base, winning the wild card game before being eliminated in the division round.
The 2002 Diamondbacks failed to repeat as world champions, but they did win 98 games, making them a strong fourth entry.
The bracket’s final four spots go to four teams that compiled the best regular-season records, the 2000, 2007, 2011 and 2019 clubs.
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The format is identical to previous bracket challenges. Each matchup in the tournament is decided based on seven criteria. You can think of each as a ‘game,’ the winner of four games advancing. The seven criteria are:
- Game 1: Regular season winning percentage.
- Game 2: Post-season winning percentage
- Game 3: Team OPS+
- Game 4: Team ERA+
- Game 5 (if necessary): Team WAR
- Game 6 (if necessary: Fielding percentage above the league average for the season in question.
- Game 7 (if necessary): The standard for Game 7 is Hall of Famers or likely future Hall of Famers.
Arizona Diamondbacks: The All-Time Bracket
No. 1 vs. 8 seed
The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks are an imposing bunch on paper. Schilling and Johnson both won more than 20 games, and both did so with ERAs under 3.00. That explains why they finished one-two in Cy Young Award voting, Johnson winning his third of four straight.
Outfielder Luis Gonzalez was the offensive centerpiece. Gonzalez batted .325 with 57 home runs and 142 RBIs, the best season of his career. At age 37, first baseman Mark Grace was still up to producing a .298 average; outfielder Reggie Sanders drove in 90 runs.
The 2000 Diamondbacks featured many of the same pieces, although Schilling’s arrival in a mid-season trade with Philadelphia failed to lift the team out of third place in the NL West. The finished 12 games behind the division champion San Francisco Giants and nine games out of the only available wild card spot.
Johnson was 19-7 in picking up his Cy Young, but the team otherwise lacked pitching depth. Gonzalez batted .311 with 31 homers and 114 RBIs, and outfielder Danny Bautista added a .317 average in part-time duty. At first base, Greg Colbrunn hit .313.
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Game 1: The 2000 Diamondbacks had an 85-77 regular-season record for a .525 percentage. In 2001 they upped that to 92-70 .568.
Game 2: In their World Series run, the 2001 club compiled a .647 post-season record. But the percentage doesn’t matter because the 2000 team failed to play a post-season game.
Game 3: Neither team was especially adept with the stick. The 2000 club had a team 88 OPS+. In 2001 the Diamondbacks raised that to 94…not great but good enough to take a 3-0 lead in this series.
Game 4: The 2001 champions conclude the sweep with their Johnson-Schilling lead 121 ERA+. In 2000 the ERA+ was 110.
Result: 2001 in four games
Arizona Diamondbacks: The All-Time Bracket
No. 4 vs. 5 seed
The 2011 Diamondbacks won the NL West with a 94-68 record, finishing a comfortable eight games ahead of the San Francisco Giants. But they lost a tough five-game division series to Milwaukee, the deciding game going to 10 innings
Justin Upton led a talented young lineup, batting .289 with 31 homers and 88 RBIs. Gerardo Parra hit .292.
On the mound, Ian Kennedy enjoyed the best season of his career, winning 21 times against just four losses with a 2.88 ERA. Daniel Hudson added a 16-12 mark in 33 starts. J.J. Putz saved 45 games.
The 2017 D-backs were led by first baseman Goldschmidt’s .297 average, 36 homers, and 120 RBIs. At third base, Jake Lamb hit 30 homers and drove in 105 runs.
Zack Greinke led the staff with a 17-7 record and 3.20 ERA in 32 starts. Robbie Ray was 15-5, and Fernando Rodney saved 39 games.
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Game 1: The 2011 D-Backs went 94-68 for a .580 percentage. In 2017 they were one game worse.
Game 2: The 2011 team may have lost its division series, but it did take the Brewers to five games. That’s a .400 post-season percentage. The 2017 club won its wild-card game, but then was eliminated by Los Angeles in four straight, for a .250 post-season record.
Game 3: The 2011 team produced a 99 OPS+. In 2017 the Diamondbacks only got to 94.
Game 4: With Greinke and Ray, the 2017 team certainly could pitch. Its 128 staff ERA+ is a franchise-best, even better than in 2001. The 2011 team only got to a 104 ERA+.
Game 5: The 1027 D-Backs had a 47.1 team WAR. That’s easily superior to the 2011 team’s modest 34.1 WAR.
Game 6: in 2017 the Diamondbacks fielded .982, a figure that was three points worse than the National League average. The 2011 team fielded .985, two points better than the NL average.
Result: 2011 in six games
Arizona Diamondbacks: The All-Time Bracket
No. 2 vs. 7 seed
The 1999 Diamondbacks improved by a stunning 35 games from their debut season, running up a franchise-record 100 victories on their way to the NL West title. The arrival of Johnson to lead the staff had to be one reason. His 17-9 and 2.48 ERA in 271 innings won his second Cy Young Award and the first of four straight he would take with Arizona.
Gonzalez batted .336 and was one of four Arizona regulars to top 100 RBIs: He had 111, outfielder Steve Finley drove in 103, second baseman Jay Bell had 112 and third baseman Matt Williams led them all with 142. Bell, Williams, and Finley all also surpassed 30 home runs.
The 2019 team lacked Goldschmidt, who had been traded to St. Louis the previous off-season. But it still came home second in the NL West. Its 85-77 record was, however, four games short of the second wild-card spot.
Infielder-outfielder Ketel Marte blossomed into a front-rank star with a .329 average, 32 homers and 92 RBIs. Third baseman Eduardo Escobar drove in 118 runs.
Greinke (10-4, 2.90) was on hand until a mid-season trade dispatched him to Houston. The loss of the team ace may, in the end, have crippled the club’s postseason chances. But Ray produced a 12-8 record and emerged as a candidate to be the new team ace.
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Game 1: The 1999 team’s .617 percentage is the best in franchise history, better than 2019’s .525.
Game 2: The 2019 team did not play a post-season game, so this game is a forfeit.
Game 3: In 1999, the Diamondbacks had a 101 team OPS+. The 2019 team only got to a 94 OPS+.
Game 4: The 1999 team compiled a 122 ERA+ behind Johnson. In 2019 the Diamondbacks managed a credible but insufficient 105 ERA+.
Result: 1999 in four games
Arizona Diamondbacks: The All-Time Bracket
No. 3 vs. 6 seed
The 2002 Diamondbacks won the NL West with a 98-64 record before being eliminated in consecutive division series games by the St. Louis Cardinals. In winning his fifth Cy Young and fourth straight, Johnson produced a 24-5 season with a 2.32 ERA in 260 innings.
Schilling, again the runner-up, was virtually as good. He was 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA in 259 innings. Between them, they struck out 650 opponents,
Gonzalez fell to .288 but still drove in a team-high 103 runs thanks in part to a team-high 28 homers. Finley hit 25 home runs.
The 2007 Diamondbacks won the NL West by a single game over the Rockies and Padres, who were forced into a Monday playoff for the wild card berth. Colorado won to make the final margin of difference one-half game.
They eliminated the Chicago Cubs in the division round before losing the NLCS to the Rockies.
The team’s strength was its pitching, led by Brandon Webb at 18-10, 3.01. An ordinary lineup was led by second baseman Orlando Hudson (.294), with outfielder Chris Young slamming 32 home runs.
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Game 1: The 2002 D-Backs had a .605 regular-season percentage. In 2007 the D-Backs were 90-72, a .556 percentage.
Game 2: The 2002 team failed to win a post-season game. The 2007 D-Backs were 3-4 in post-season, a .429 percentage.
Game 3: In 2002 the Diamondbacks had a 93 OPS+. That doesn’t sound good, but it was several notches better than 2007’s 83 OPS+.
Game 4: This was a battle of evenly matched staffs. The 2002 team’s 116 ERA+ wins out by one point over 2007’s115.
Game 5: The 2002 team’s 46.0 WAR proved clearly superior to 2007’s 29.5.
Result: 2002 in five games
Arizona Diamondbacks: The All-Time Bracket
Semi-finals
The 2011 NL West champions emerge as the only challenger to the team’s 1999-2002 mini-dynasty.
2001 vs. 2011
Game 1: In 2001, the world champs had a 92-70 .568 regular-season record. In 2011 they were two games and a dozen percentage points better.
Game 2: Winning a World Series does good things for a team’s post-season percentage. In 2001, the D-Backs were .647 in post-season, far superior to the 2011 team’s .400 post-season percentage.
Game 3: The 2001 team had a 94 OPS+. In 2011 Arizona compiled a 99 OPS+.
Game 4: The Johnson-schilling led 2001 champions presented a 121 staff ERA+. The 2011 team only got to 104. This series is even at two games each.
Game 5: The 2001 D-Backs compiled 48.5 WAR. In 2011 they only reached 34.1.
Game 6: The 2001 champions fielded .986, a solid four points above the NL average. The 2011 team fielded .985, just two points above the league average.
Result: 2001 in six games
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1999 vs. 2002
This is a battle between Johnson and Gonzalez vs. Johnson and Gonzalez.
Game 1: The 1999 team had the franchise’s best regular-season percentage at 100-62 .617. The 2002 team was 98-64 .605.
Game 2: In 1999 Arizona played .250 post-season ball. The 2002 team, however, failed to win a post-season game.
Game 3: The 1999 club produced a 101 OPS+. In 2002 Arizona only got to 93.
Game 4: The 1999 team had a 122 staff ERA+. The 2002 team, with much the same cast, produced a 116 ERA+…good but not good enough to forestall a sweep.
Result: 1999 in four games
Arizona Diamondbacks: The All-Time Bracket
Championship
The claim of the best team in D-Backs history comes down to the franchise’s only World Series winner vs. the team with the best regular-season record.
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Game 1: 1999’s .617 is easily superior to 2001’s .568.
Game 2: The .647 post-season percentage of the 2001 club evens this series; in 1999 Arizona only played .250 post-season ball.
Game 3: The 1999 Diamondbacks had a 101 OPS+. That’s actually seven points better than 2001’s 94.
Game 4: The 1999 team’s 122 ERA+ edges out the 2001 champion’s 121.
Game 5: In 2001 the Diamondbacks rode Johnson’s staggering 10.1 and Gonzalez’s 7.9 to a 48.5 WAR. But the 1999 team had better depth in support of Johnson’s 9.1 and Gonzalez’s 6.4. As a result, it totaled 50.1 WAR.
Result: 1999 in five games
In dispatching the 2019 team, the 2002 team, and the 2001 team, the 1999 club was never taken beyond a fifth game. The record shows that it fielded .983, three points above the league average.
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No series in the Arizona bracket was ever taken to a seventh game, necessitating a count of current or future Hall of Famers. In that category, Johnson was the constant, playing for the1999 through 2002 teams. Schilling’s vote total has been rising lately, and he now appears likely – although not certain — to make it.