In the first 66 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season, the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the biggest upsets. With 74 and 52 wins respectively in the last two seasons, the team has already won 40 games. She leads the National League West by 3 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers despite underspending compared to the rest of the division.
The Diamondbacks have $114.9 million in total wages, ranking 21st below the league average, while the San Diego Padres are third in the MLB with $246.9 million; The Dodgers rank fifth with $228.1 million, the San Francisco Giants 11th with $183.7 million, and the Colorado Rockies 14th with $179.5 million .
More from Sportico.com
Of course, the D-Backs are spending significantly more than last season’s $86 million and they’ll be looking to improve the team through the Aug. 1 close, according to general manager Mike Hazen. This spending comes while awaiting a decision from Diamond Sports Group on whether Bally will exit his $1.5 billion, 20-year contract with the regional sports network.
“We look to invest in the team when we think we have a better competitive opportunity,” managing partner Ken Kendrick said recently, “and we think this is one of those years.”
Leading the Diamondbacks are two of the best young players in the game in right-hander Zac Gallen and speedy outfielder Corbin Carroll. The latter signed an eight-year, $111 million deal ahead of the season. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who came on an offseason trade from the Toronto Blue Jays, also had a stellar season, and Ketel Marte has bounced back from a downseason and established himself at second base and at plate.
This year’s new MLB rules fit Arizona’s small-ball style—putting the ball in play, stealing bases, and hitting bases. The D-Backs are fifth in MLB with 63 stolen bases and no other team in their division comes close. They came back from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning on Sunday, scoring four goals and defeating the Tigers 7-5.
In their current pay structure, the D-Backs pay the balance of Madison Bumgarner’s contract of $18 million for this year, $14 million for next season, and a $5 million annual deferred salary from 2025 until 2027. Hazen has decided to release the veteran. He was named left-handed pitcher on May 1 after posting a 10.26 ERA in his just four starts, continuing a slide that began after he was in time for the season Signed with Arizona as a free agent in 2020.
“In the end I was told [by ownership] doing anything to win baseball games,” Hazen said.
Since Bumgarner was drafted, the D-Backs have gone 24-12, capped off by a recent 5-0 away win by Washington and Detroit.
Manager Torey Lovullo patched up the bullpen and starting rotation. He was juggling fleet-footed outfielders including Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas as neither youngster matched his weight. That earned Lovullo a contract extension through the 2024 season, which he signed on June 4.
“My job is easy every day,” said Lovullo, whose nearly seven-year tenure as manager of the D-Backs is already the longest in the club’s history. “It’s about being there for the players, continuing to grow and learn and do the best I can.” We’ve had some very lean years here, but we’re moving in the right direction and we’re coming at the other end out again.”
Local fans are starting to get it. The D-Backs’ total viewership of 706,873 ranks 19th in MLB and their average per game is 20,790 ranked 20th; A total of 96,399 viewers recently attended a tumultuous three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Total attendance is on par with last year’s average of 19,817, but well above 2021’s 12,876 per game for the entire 81-game home schedule.
As Lovullo said, “We’re trying to win back the hearts and minds of these fans and we still have a long way to go.”
At the same time, Kendrick and President Derrick Hall continue to explore the future of Chase Field; The ballpark opened in 1998 for the club’s first expansion season and the current lease with Maricopa County expires after the 2027 season.
The building, which is the fourth largest in MLB with a capacity of 48,519, has numerous internal plumbing and electrical problems. The retractable roof, which has cable problems, was due for a $10 million repair during the offseason, but that didn’t happen. It still cannot be opened or closed while customers are in the seats.
The Arizona state legislature passed a bill in 2021 that would allow the D-Backs to levy an additional fee of up to 9% on tickets, concessions and merchandise sold at the park, around the $500 million Funding a $2 billion renovation of the current baseball stadium or the construction of a new facility at the heart of an entertainment complex that could cost up to $2 billion. That’s similar to the $2.1 billion development proposal from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes that Tempe voters rejected last month.
The D-Backs are looking for another location near their current ballpark in downtown Phoenix, but are reluctant to require their customers to pay such a high occupancy fee for the remodeling or renovation. Decisions must be made on this front.
“Obviously we’re coming to a critical moment,” Hall said during a recent press conference.
Arizona won the 2001 World Series against the New York Yankees but has only made the playoffs four times since then, the most recent being in 2017 — the first year for Hazen and Lovullo in the franchise. On the field at least, the D-Backs are on track as the season nears halftime.
The best of Sportico.com
Click here to read the full article.
