PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks had themselves a Cinderella story of a season this year as they went from the worst team in baseball two years ago to the World Series just last week. It is interesting to compare this turnaround to the Phoenix Suns’ same drastic improvement. The Phoenix Suns suffered a 19-win season in the 2018-19 season yet found themselves in the NBA Finals only two years later. The Diamondbacks went from a 110-loss record in 2021 to the World Series two years later.
However, the Diamondbacks’ stellar defense, led by first baseman Christian Walker and catcher Gabriel Moreno, made their success this year possible. Over the weekend we saw the defensive duo of Walker and Moreno Awarded Gold Gloves.
Walker collects his second consecutive award at the first baseman position, putting him in a very small group of players in Diamondbacks history to ever win multiple Gold Glove awards. There are only two, and that other player was Walker’s predecessor and America’s first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt.
Walker led all NL first basemen in defensive runs saved (+9), outs above average (+11), and runs prevented (+9), according to Sports Info Solutions and Statcast. He had a .996 fielding percentage, and out of 1,099 chances, only recorded four errors.
Anyone who has watched the Diamondbacks this last season would quickly be able to tell that Walker thrived at first base and at the plate. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 105 runs. Not only did Walker excel at fielding any ball hit to him, but any ball thrown to him. Mike Hazen, general manager of the Diamondbacks, had the same question most of us did whenever Walker would scoop a ball thrown in the dirt. “He seems to pick balls that I always ask, ‘Man, would other guys have picked that ball?’” Hazen said. “A lot of times, the answer is no.” Gabriel Moreno, who was acquired from the Blue Jays last December, won his first Gold Glove in his first full season as a starter. It didn’t take long to feel like the Diamondbacks won that trade after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. started to immediately contribute at-bat, but soon after realized they struck gold with Gabriel Moreno.
According to Baseball Reference, Moreno led all major league catchers in defensive WAR (3.1) and topped all NL catchers in caught-stealing rate (48%), throwing out 22 of 57 runners. He also had a .993 fielding percentage and made only five errors in 741 chances. Moreno, who also hit .287 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs, caught fire in the postseason, earning himself the all-too-important 3 spot in the lineup.
Moreno’s excellent blocking skills have a positive impact on Diamondbacks pitchers. They feel confident enough to try and trick batters into chasing breaking balls in the dirt and not have it hit the backstop. But they also feel comfortable when there are runners on base with Moreno behind the plate. “With Gabi’s arm back there, it just kind of takes your mind off of the running game and those teams that try to run,” Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen said. “He puts a stop to that pretty easily.”
The Diamondbacks also had a Gold Glove finalist in center fielder Alek Thomas, but he lost to the Rockies’ Brenton Doyle. The Young King himself, who is known for his speed and range, had +7 defensive runs saved and +5 outs above average, according to Sports Info Solutions and Statcast. He also had a .989 fielding percentage and made only two errors in 183 chances.
The most likely reason Thomas fell short was only because he was sent back to Reno to focus on his swing for a month of the season. Otherwise, we would’ve been blessed with an even lengthier highlight reel of amazing catches in the air. This was not the first time that Thomas earned a finalist spot and will certainly not be the last. The Young King has the Midas touch in the outfield so that glove will turn to gold in no time.
The Diamondbacks celebrate this year with a handful of individual awards, including seeing the defensive duo Walker and Moreno Awarded Gold Gloves and the inevitable Rookie of the Year award for Corbin Carroll. With all the young talent competing with the star-studded veterans of the league, the Diamondbacks will look to build on this success to get back to the World Series and finish the job this time.
3 Responses
Interesting article and impressive choice of words and metaphors! Great to read your work.
Well done, Joshua! Hope to see more of your reporting going forward.
thank you