2024 Arizona Diamondbacks

2024 Arizona Diamondbacks / Franchise: Arizona Diamondbacks / BR Team Page

Record: 89-73, Finished 3rd in NL Western Division (2024 NL)

Managed by Torey Lovullo

Coaches: Jeff Banister, Dan Carlson, Damion Easley, Mike Fetters, Drew Hedman, Joe Mather, Dave McKay, Tony Perezchica, Rick Short and Brent Strom

Ballpark: Chase Field

History, Comments, Contributions

Coming off the second World Series appearance in franchise history, the 2024 Arizona Diamondbacks had a great Opening Day facing the Colorado Rockies on March 28th as they set a franchise record by scoring 14 runs in the 3rd inning on their way to a 16-1 win. The outburst was also the biggest inning by any team on Opening Day since at least 1900. They did not hit a single homer in the frame, battering three different Rockies pitchers for 13 hits; the inning featured three RBIs each by Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel, and the first big league hit by Blaze Alexander, who was making his debut. However, the era of good feelings did not last very long, as after winning three of four games played in March, the D-Backs went 11-16 in April and 11-15 in May to fall to 25-32, ten games back of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Starting on June 1st, however, Arizona began to play like the defending pennant winners, going 16-11 in June, 17-8 in July, and 18-9 in August. That was the best record by any team in the majors over that three-month period, and while they were now 16 games above .500, they had only managed to reduce the Dodgers' lead by four games, as their rivals were having a smashing season of their own. Indeed, the last two games of August were indicative of that titanesque clash, as L.A. won both times, 10-9 and 8 -6 to put a bit of daylight between the two teams. The second of these games, on August 31st, featured one of the wildest 1st innings in recent memory, as the Dodgers opened the game with three consecutive homers - by Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman -, the first time this had happened in franchise history, only to see Arizona reply with 4 runs, including a lead-off inside-the-park homer by Corbin Carroll.

Awards and Honors

• All-Star: Ketel Marte
• NL Gold Glove: Christian Walker (1B)
• NL Silver Slugger Award: Ketel Marte (2B)

Further Reading

• David Brandt (The Associated Press): "Judge is awesome. So is Ohtani. But it's the balanced Diamondbacks who have MLB's best offense", Yahoo! Sports, September 16, 2024. [1]
• Steve Gilbert: "D-backs make Opening Day history with 14-run frame: 'I've never seen anything like that,' said Lovullo of new franchise-best outburst", mlb.com, March 29, 2024. [2]
• Michael Reynolds and Steve Gilbert: "Rivalry gone wild: Chaotic first inning features fireworks from both clubs: Edman caps thriller between Dodgers, D-backs with 2-run single in the ninth inning", mlb.com, September 1, 2024. [3]

2024 MLB season by team