These past few years, Arizona Diamondbacks fans have nursed the vision of a pennant fluttering in the wind, only to see the team disappointingly slip out of the postseason standings.
But, this September felt different for a team that had played with so much potential and so much heart, especially the final few days of regular-season baseball, as it stubbornly clung to its playoff hopes, refusing to settle for the “E.” Maybe this year another team, like the Phillies, would slip out of contention. Improbable, yes, but it all still seemed within reach.
This last week, Diamondbacks fans felt that rush too as the team played what may have been its best baseball all year with a season-high six straight wins, with victories over the Yankees, Rockies
and Padres. In those final days, the Diamondbacks seemed unstoppable, playing the kind of offense and defense they were capable of, and fans rode that momentum with them.
Fans could point to the earlier September losses against the Marlins as missed opportunities or question the wisdom of executing a bullpen game using weaker bullpen arms in the second-to-last game of the season against the Padres. Yet, somehow, the disappointment of that final game of the season seemed to sting less.
Maybe it was the sight of the manager telling the team in a mound visit mid-game that they had just been eliminated from the dream they had been holding onto for seven months and 161 games. Maybe it was the manager’s quick, sideways hug of Geraldo Perdomo, after all of the injuries and disappointments they had battled through, after the Ketel Marte disappearance, which some still call “the betrayal in Boston” and which threatened the momentum of their postseason push.
Maybe it was the sight of Corbin Carroll sitting in stunned silence in the dugout after being taken out of the game for the final time this year.
And maybe it was the improbable hope that in these final days, the team really was unstoppable. How many times during the season had they battled back? They had come from behind 47 times for victories, which led all of Major League Baseball for the 2026 season.
Sure, Diamondbacks fans were left remembering the season that was, the season ending that should have been. But they also were left with the biggest lesson of all: keep battling.
A Tucson native whose family spent summers in the White Mountains, Rebecca “Becca” Dyer lives in the Valley, is a copy editor/online producer for The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com and follows the Arizona Diamondbacks. Send tips on Arizona history items to rebecca.dyer@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No matter what, Arizona’s baseball team deserves moniker of the Battle-Backs
