Dbacks fans, rejoice! The Snakes are headed to the World Series after seven hard-fought games against the Phillies and will be facing the Texas Rangers.
For some fans, this will be the first time they’ve seen the Dbacks win the Pennant, and for the fans who have been cheering for them since their inaugural season in ‘98, this will be the second time they’ve seen them win the NL Pennant.
What this team has done all season is incredible, to say the least. From being a 100+ loss team to being NL Champions in just 2 years is such an incredibly quick turnaround, it almost seems like a fever dream to most, but during their Postseason run, the Dbacks have made the most of it, writing their own history and breaking records.
NLCS MVP Ketel Marte has a SIXTEEN-game hitting streak to start his postseason career which broke the previous record of 15 that was set by Marquis Grissom in 1995-1996. To complement that 16-game hitting streak, Marte is slashing a /.358/.382/.604 line over the whole postseason and has the highest batting average on the team. The Dbacks were the first team to hit 4 home runs in one inning for a postseason game, and yes, it does sound like something that would happen in a video game.
Moving away from the record-breaking, let’s rewind back to the ‘01 season in which there were similarities to be found. In 2001, during a Spring Training game, Diamondbacks Ace pitcher Randy Johnson accidentally hit a bird. This year, on May 17th, Diamondbacks Ace Zac Gallen hit a bird during pregame warmups and some fans were jokingly saying that it’s our destiny and that it was already written in stone that this was our year. However, something else to note is that all the games in this year’s World Series are on the same dates as the World Series games in 2001.
The final crazy coincidence is that in 2001, the MLB All-Star game was in Seattle, but not only was it in Seattle, but both Randy Johnson and Luis Gonzalez were starters for the National League team. This year, it was Corbin Carroll and Zac Gallen. But is this all just a coincidence?
Regardless, the Diamondbacks have fought hard this postseason and absolutely deserve to be playing in the Fall Classic once again. It will be hard to contain a scorching hot team like the Texas Rangers, but it won’t be impossible as the DBacks have proven that they can shut down great hitters. This was proven in the Dodgers series where Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman went a combined 1-21 over the 3-game set.
There are only four more games left to win it all, so let’s all get comfy and as the DBacks say, embrace the chaos!