From Corbin Carroll to 'Sweep LA,' 2023 Diamondbacks left lasting impression

The 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks are a team that gave us a season we'll not soon forget.

They delivered the second National League pennant to Arizona, and even though the World Series didn't end up with the result fans wanted, the journey from 110 losses just two seasons ago to the sport's biggest stage was confounding at times, mesmerizing at others, and ultimately provided great promise of extended success for perhaps the first time in franchise history.

Before we close the book on the 2023 DBacks, Arizona Republic staffers who were involved in covering the team or its postseason run share the moments they'll carry with them.

How to explain this Diamondbacks team?

Like everyone else, I did not expect I would be covering baseball into November. There were points during the final weeks of the season it seemed possible the Diamondbacks would miss the playoffs entirely. And even once they got in I figured they would probably go down in relatively short order.

Many of the players seemed to feel that way, too. Their sheer joy, their honest disbelief, when it came to what they were doing is something that will stick with me. By the end it was clear there was something special about this team, but even they had to discover that for themselves.

I won’t forget those four homers they hit in the second inning off Lance Lynn, especially the fourth by Gabriel Moreno. He hit what he thought was a homer, rounded the bases, returned to the dugout, waited for a replay review to rule it foul — then came back to the plate and hit out the very next pitch to a different part of the ballpark.

I won’t forget the roar at Chase Field when Alek Thomas homered off Craig Kimbrel in Game 4 of the NLCS, nor will I forget how quiet it was when the Diamondbacks won Game 7 at Citizens Bank Park, where their celebratory screams on the field were audible from the press box.

But more than anything what I will remember is how an 84-win team that was outscored during the regular season, a club that seemed inferior in terms of talent, somehow felt like the best team on the field for all but a few games during the postseason.

I can’t explain it, really. But I won’t forget it, either.

—Nick Piecoro, beat writer

Brandon Pfaadt's unfazed October

When I think about this team, its defining trait is resilience. The 2023 Diamondbacks became the first team in baseball history to have a 7-25 stretch and reach the postseason. They became the fourth team to have a nine-game losing streak and win a pennant.

Nobody better exemplified that resilience than Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt bounced back from a pair of demotions to help the Diamondbacks claim a wild-card spot. And once they got to October, he became a completely different pitcher.

Think about his two outings against the Phillies. If the Diamondbacks had lost Game 3, their season would almost certainly have been over. If they had lost Game 7, it would have been over.

In Game 3, he pitched the game of his life, striking out nine Phillies in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. In Game 7, he walked into the loudest environment in baseball and struck out seven in four innings of two-run ball. With runners on the corners and one out in the fourth inning, every single person in Citizens Bank Park was screaming at Pfaadt. The rookie responded by striking out two batters and keeping the Diamondbacks in the game. His demeanor was the exact same as it was in May or June or July.

Pfaadt wasn’t the only player to show an impressive level of steel. Back in July, the Diamondbacks won one of the most ridiculous games I’ve ever seen, beating the Braves 16-13 in a game that featured seven lead changes. Had the season ended on Oct. 1, that might have been the night that stood out. Instead, they played into November and carved out another month full of memories. And in that month, Pfaadt became a hero.

—Theo Mackie, beat writer

Mike Hazen was enjoying himself, for once

I hope to never forget Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen celebrating through a broken heart in the visitor’s clubhouse after his Diamondbacks had knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.

It was just like when you see it on TV.

Plastic was draped over the lockers. Players were wearing ski goggles. Reporters were wearing raincoats. And everything was sticky and smelled like beer.

Hazen was at the center of the chaos, enjoying himself for once. He had been through it all, personally and professionally. And he was headed to his first World Series.

I asked him what was going through his mind.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Not a lot. … Excitement and pride for the work that got put in this year, and the fact that we never quit.”

If only his wife, Nicole, could have been there to see it. She had died of cancer a little more than a year earlier, and no one was really over it.

“I’m missing the person who’s supposed to be here with me,” Hazen said. “But I know she’s been with us the whole way. Sometimes, when I think about how improbable this is, I think that’s why we’ve been good. … I think I’m crazy.”

I didn’t think he was crazy. Not at all.

And I hope I never forget how I saw him in that moment, enjoying himself, for once.

—Greg Moore, columnist

DBacks leadership, accountability starts with Torey Lovullo

I was fortunate to work about a dozen games this season, and what always stood out to me was manager Torey Lovullo's unwavering positive outlook on everything. Win or lose, he wears his passion for the game and the players on his sleeve for all to see. He accepted criticism and answered every question, even if he might not have agreed with it.

Even without an unbelievable run through the postseason, the team was always fun to watch and the future is bright. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Geraldo Perdomo always seemed to have so much fun both playing and in the clubhouse, and the players were very engaging and seemed genuinely interested in anything I ever asked them or talked to them about. I think that says a lot about Lovullo's leadership and attitude.

—Jose M. Romero, sports writer

'Sweep LA! Sweep LA!'

One of the coolest moments was the final out in the National League Division Series against the Dodgers. The Dodgers have had the DBacks’ number and a lot of people thought that would continue in the postseason. The momentum and energy coming into Game 3 with a 2-0 lead was felt throughout Chase Field and it was a cool sight. The four home runs in one inning were a big factor in the crowd’s engagement. I hadn't witnessed someone’s home run being overturned, and then putting it over the fence on the next pitch until Gabi Moreno did it. Once Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made the final out, there was just so much relief on the field and in the stands.

—Jenna Ortiz, sports writer

DBacks force a quick hook on Dodgers' Kershaw

I thought I was making a quick trip to L.A. to photograph the DBacks getting destroyed by the Dodgers. Then something shocked me more than anything I've ever witnessed in 50 years of covering Arizona sports. Before the second out of the first inning in Game 1 of the NLDS, manager Dave Roberts walked toward the mound and took the ball away from the future Hall of Famer and starting pitcher, Clayton Kershaw.

What had just happened: Ketel Marte doubled to center, Corbin Carroll hit an RBI single, Tommy Pham singled, Christian Walker hit an RBI double, Gabriel Moreno hit a 3-run home run, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounded out, Alek Thomas walked and Evan Longoria hit an RBI double. I'd never heard Dodger Stadium so silent, I'd never seen an important game decided with one out in the top of the first inning.

—Rob Schumacher, photographer

DBacks pass an early test against the Braves

A game that stands out in my mind was June 2 against the Atlanta Braves, the first in a three-game series. The DBacks had a record of 34-23 and while they had been playing much-improved baseball, I think the jury was still out. Being that it was the Braves coming to town, a lot of us were talking about how this could be a measuring stick as to just how good this team could be, since Atlanta definitely loomed as a serious championship contender.

Merrill Kelly was on the mound being Merrill Kelly. His team scored two in the first inning and seemed unfazed at who they were playing. Kelly went 7, gave up two runs and struck out eight. At that point, the bullpen was still kind of in flux and Torey Lovullo was going by matchup, not necessarily designated roles.

It was Miguel Castro on the mound in the ninth with the DBacks protecting a 3-2 lead. The Braves got two on with one out and it brought back some not-so-great memories of games blown by bullpens past. But he got Ozzie Albies on a fly out and Orlando Arcia on a comebacker to the mound.

It was just a really good, well-played baseball game with this up-and-coming young team beating one of baseball’s best. It struck me how poised and mature some of the younger players seemed given their lack of experience in big games."

—Michelle Gardner, sports writer

The blur that is Corbin Carroll

I see most of the DBacks games on TV, and get to Chase Field when I can. Television just doesn't capture the speed of this team which, in person, can be breathtaking.

Very quickly it became apparent that Carroll was one of those players you just can't take your eyes off of when he's on the field. Just like when Paul Goldschmidt was a must-see every time he was up, Carroll is one of those catalyst guys who could change a game at any time.

A game that stands out is an otherwise routine early July matchup with the lowly Pirates. Mitch Keller had stymied the DBacks on one hit through seven innings, then in the 10th took a one-run lead. But in the bottom of the inning Arizona tied it up again, and then the Pirates inexplicably (to me, anyway) intentionally walked Ketel Marte to pitch to Carroll, who promptly hit a single to walk off Pittsburgh.

It wasn't his first walk-off hit, but according to ESPN, he became the first rookie in MLB history to hit 15 home runs, steal 25 stolen bases and have two walk-off hits before the All-Star Game.

—Mark Faller, sports editor

From high school baseball to the World Series

Sports often evoke memories and connections from the past. How many photos and videos of the Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Series championship have you seen during this year's run?

Fifteen years ago as a young reporter, I not only covered Joe Mantiply’s baseball games at Tunstall High School for his small hometown newspaper, the Danville Register & Bee in rural Virginia, but wrote the story when he signed with Virginia Tech.

On Tuesday, before Game 4 of the World Series at Chase Field, I reconnected with his parents, David and Trenace, at their seats behind home plate at Chase Field and wrote a feature story about the family watching their son — a relief pitcher — start a game in the World Series.

"I never dreamed that we would be having this conversation," his mom said, echoing her husband.

That makes three of us.

—Jason Wolf, sports writer

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2023 Diamondbacks team had a season, World Series run to remember