Introduction
In case you’ve been living under a rock since the D-Backs were eliminated from the postseason chase, it’s been an exhilarating postseason to this point with impressive pitching performances, historic comebacks, and drama abounded. Sadly, for the third straight year the Diamondbacks find themselves sitting at home setting tee times rather than lineups at this time of year. There are plenty of reasons for that situation – both as a team and individually. We’ll have plenty of time to digest and dissect
those reasons (especially if the sport’s labor relations take the expected turn for the worse). But even though the season as a whole was unsuccessful within that frame of mind, there was plenty of exciting success for individuals up and down the roster. I think it’s worth highlighting that success and the individual achievements players reach in a season so I’ve been picking some individual milestones that players might reach in the season for the past couple of years to spotlight them in a long season.
Ketel Marte’s Approaches 200 Homers
Like the team, the club’s unofficial team captain had a rocky season both on an off the field. It was his worst season by OPS and OPS+ in nearly five years and a sharp departure from the MVP-caliber play he showed at times last season. Additionally, for the second year in a row, he demonstrated serious, well-documented off-field issues that clearly affected his play and the play of his teammates. The year started very slowly for him at the plate as his OPS bottomed out at .619 at the end of play on May 15th after an 0-for-5 effort in a win against the Rockies. Even worse, Marte had clubbed just five home runs and only 12 extra base hits in the first 41 games. From that date through the end of the season however, Marte looked like his usual self with a .266/.336/.464 slash line, 17 roundtrippers, and 44 extra base hits in the final 101 games of the season. Those numbers are closer to his career norms of a .280/.349/.472 slash line, 23 home runs, and 65 extra base hits, but they were not enough for the veteran to reach the 28 homers necessary to hit 200 for his career. Instead, he finds himself seven homers short of the 200 career mark, facing down negativity from the fanbase, and even more question marks on his position within the organization.
Nolan Arenado’s Pursuit of 2000 Hits
It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I really like the move when Mike Hazen traded for Arenado this past offseason. It improved what was a mediocre defense last year, especially with Eugenio Saurez at the hot corner, brought in some needed veteran leadership, and would take whatever kind of offense they could get from him. Instead, the future Hall of Famer seemingly found the Fountain of Youth in the desert as he put together his best season since 2022. He reached 2000 career hits in late July and shortly afterward reached the bWAR milestone of 60 for his career. Ultimately, he ended the season with 2057 hits and a career 61.4 bWAR, a particularly incredible set of accomplishments considering how poorly the previous two campaigns with the Cardinals were for him. And while it’s unlikely he’ll be able to recreate that kind of success two seasons in a row at 36, the D-Backs do have an additional year of control with him for next season. If nothing else, Arenado has shown that he can contribute through his leadership and dazzling glovework.
