PHOENIX—The season was sweet, just the ending was sour.
The Arizona Diamondbacks seem loaded for the future after a surprising run to the NL championship series ended in a four-game sweep by the Colorado Rockies.
The youngsters who played key roles in the team’s strong season gained invaluable experience in the playoffs.
“We’re going to be reckoned with in this league for many years to come,” third baseman Mark Reynolds said. “We’ve got a young nucleus here. We’ll be back and we’ll be making some noise next year.”
Reynolds was one of three rookies usually in the starting lineup. The others were flashy center fielder Chris Young and 20-year-old right fielder Justin Upton.
Two others—shortstop Stephen Drew and first baseman Conor Jackson—were in their second big league season.
Tony Clark, the 11-year veteran who was the unquestioned leader in the clubhouse, said the youngsters could not have asked for a better year of seasoning.
“Having the opportunity to experience a postseason that doesn’t come around very often, as some of us will attest to, they have that under their belt,” Clark said.
The Diamondbacks persevered through the loss of Randy Johnson (back surgery), infielder Chad Tracy (knee surgery) and Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson (hand surgery).
After signing a two-year, $26 million deal to come back to Arizona, Johnson went 4-3 with a 3.81 ERA before his back gave out for the second year in a row. The big 44-year-old left-hander is working toward yet another comeback, and expects to pitch next season.
Tracy, who signed a three-year, $13.25 million contract extension last season, played in only 76 games, batting .264 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs. He had microfracture surgery in September, and it’s uncertain whether he’ll be ready to play when next season begins.
Hudson went down late in the year, and was the ever-talkative supporter of the team in the dugout. The two-time Gold Glove winner, who hit .294 with 10 homers and 63 RBIs, is eligible for contract arbitration after this season. Whether Arizona brings him back or decides to go with a youngster, perhaps the ultra-fast Emilio Bonifacio, remains to be seen.
Bonifacio stole 41 bases this year at Double-A Mobile and was one of the team’s September callups.
Then there’s Clark, whose steady leadership and advice held the team together through tough times. The big first baseman’s contract expires this year.
“I always understand going into any offseason there’s always a lot of business that takes place and a lot of personnel decisions that have to be made,” he said. “But I’m certainly hopeful moving forward that I will be given an opportunity to come back.”
The Diamondbacks were the first team since the 1906 White Sox to have a league’s best record (90-72) and worst batting average (.250). The hitting has to improve if the team is to stay a contender, and manager Bob Melvin believes the young players will show a marked improvement at the plate.
Young hit only .237 but stole 27 bases and finished with a team-high 32 homers. The 24-year-old center fielder was the first rookie in major league history to have at least 30 homers and 25 stolen bases in a season.
Drew batted .238 but picked it up down the stretch, then went 7-for-14 in the Diamondbacks’ three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the division series.
Reynolds was called up from Double-A Mobile on May 16 to fill in for Tracy at third base and was an immediate hit. He batted .279 with 17 home runs—many of them far beyond 400 feet—but he had 129 strikeouts in 366 at-bats. In August, he tied a major league record with nine consecutive strikeouts. The Diamondbacks will try to get him to ease up on his swing before next season.
Jackson, who ended the season splitting time with Clark at first, hit .284 with 15 homers and 60 RBIs but committed 11 errors. He had two errors in the NLCS. He booted a grounder in Game 4 on Monday night for what would have been the third out of the inning, clearing the way for four unearned Colorado runs.
Something will have to give when Tracy, who can play either third or first base, returns.
Ace Brandon Webb had another standout season, going 18-10 with 194 strikeouts and a 3.01 ERA—second-best in the National League. He pitched 42 consecutive scoreless innings over one stretch, the 12th-longest streak in major league history.
“If we keep the same group, I think we’re going to be real strong,” Webb said. “I think a lot of the West Division has the same kind of makeup. The Rockies have a real young team, the Padres are young, and so are the Dodgers.”
Lefty Doug Davis will be back, but the team is not expected to re-sign Livan Hernandez. Right-hander Micah Owings, who hit an incredible .333, got a year of seasoning on the mound. The bullpen was one of the best in the league, led by Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon and closer Jose Valverde, who had a major league-best 47 saves.
“I think this is the start of something very big for us,” Melvin said.
