Recaps
[Dbacks.com] D-backs push postseason fight to Game 162, but battle ends there – It was all over for the Diamondbacks, who fought so hard and came so close, but in the end the deficit of the last week was just too great to make up. After he took the ball from Martinez, Lovullo comforted the infielders gathered on the mound, putting his arm around shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and hugging second baseman Ketel Marte. At that point, it didn’t matter what the Diamondbacks did. They were going home for the winter,
so the eventual 9-4 loss was a footnote on the day.]”It was a really special group,” Lovullo said. “We played hard for every inning of every game, and we came up one game short, or a couple games short. And it’s happened in the past, we’ve come close.”
Team news
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks’ Gabriel Moreno wins 1st batting title in franchise history – Gabriel Moreno won the first batting title in Diamondbacks history, though he probably did not wrap up the feat the way he would have liked. Moreno did not play on Sunday, Sept. 27, in the Diamondbacks’ season finale against the San Diego Padres. He was in the initial lineup but was scratched before the game due to a left hamstring injury. “It feels good,” Moreno said. “It’s something that you dream about when you are playing baseball since you were 2 years old, 4 years old, winning a batting title. Doing it here in the big leagues means a lot to me and to my family.” The Diamondbacks had two runner-up finishes for batting titles. Luis Gonzalez hit .336 in 1999, falling well short of the Rockies’ Larry Walker (.379), and Ketel Marte hit .329 in 2019, percentage points behind the Brewers’ Christian Yelich, who also hit .329.
[Arizona Sports] Lovullo maintains goal to win with Diamondbacks as contract expires: ‘I want to be wanted’ – “Arizona’s my home, I love Arizona,” Lovullo said. “The people and the fans are spectacular. The group I work for is amazing. I love being around them every day, and I don’t want that to change … but I want to be wanted.” Lovullo was asked to clarify that thought. “I’ve never felt unwanted. I just feel like there’s a portion of this that at times spins out of control that we aren’t a good organization and we don’t do things right,” Lovullo said. “I just want people to know how important doing it right is every day, and we do it that way. I want this baseball community to be proud of what we do. I’ve never felt unwanted, but there’s some decisions that need to be made, and it’s gotten this far, so I don’t know what’s going on. Once I figure that out, if it works in my favor, I do want to be wanted.”
[SI] Diamondbacks React to Missing Playoffs For 3rd Straight Season – Star outfielder Corbin Carroll described the feeling as “super disappointed.” “Felt like there was definitely a good chance,” he said. “I thought we played pretty well in September this year. I think the record was pretty solid. I think just over the course of 162, it’s hard to pin in on a game — a week. … It’s just kind of the totality of it. We’ve got to play better.” Veteran Nolan Arenado had this to say: “I think we showed a lot of fight. That was really great. We just didn’t take care of business when we should have. That last home stand, I think that’s what stands out to me, is that we didn’t take care of business in those series, and it kind of put us in a hole. But it was great to see us just battle all the way to the end of the fight. And I feel like we did that right here. It just wasn’t enough at the right time.”
And, elsewhere…
[ESPN] MLB, White House discuss playing game at national park – Major League Baseball has approached the Trump administration about hosting a game at a national park, officials from the White House and the league confirmed to The Washington Post on Saturday. The White House said in a statement that MLB asked the administration about hosting a game at a national park, adding that the National Park Service has not granted a permit to do so. “This is not a Presidential directive, nor is it being directed by the White House. It’s also not being driven by the Department of Interior,” the statement said. “Therefore, this is not a White House or Administration priority.” However, two sources told the Post that the Trump administration has scouted locations in Grand Teton National Park, located in northwest Wyoming, to build a baseball park.
The above was brought to my attention by Mrs. SnakePit. I don’t think she expected my unbridled enthusiasm for the idea! Was in Wyoming in July and it was lovely. Seeing a baseball game there would be amazing.
[Japan Times] Women sluggers are no longer in a league of their own – More than 70 years ago, the women who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in cities across the Midwest were known as the Girls of Summer, and when the league folded in 1954 after a dozen seasons, they were promptly forgotten. But ever since the movie “A League of Their Own” reintroduced the women players to America in 1992, their story has resonated widely. Some of the players still appear at card shows, baseball games and reunions that have provided them with a measure of fame, and even money, that eluded them during their playing days.
Three years ago, we met in the World Series. This year, we were both eliminated on the final day.
[Dallas Morning News] Rangers’ stretched-thin pitching staff finally snaps in season-ending loss to Twins – It’s appropriate that their final game included a beaten-up starter, a quickly dispatched high-leverage relief staff and a gaggle of veterans prepared to work in whichever role their team needed at the given moment. The Rangers tried to stretch their pitching staff as far as it could in the regular season’s final week. It finally snapped. The previous month offered an extended crash course. The bullpen had totaled more innings (110 ⅔) than the rotation (101 ⅓) did from Sept. 1 through the final game.
