The Diamondbacks are MLB’s Cinderella. Their rookie superstar is the reason why.
PHOENIX — No one has told him he’s not supposed to be doing this.
It really shouldn’t be this easy. Come on, he was still in high school four years ago.
He underwent season-ending shoulder surgery two years ago.
He didn’t make his major-league debut until last August.
Now, here is Corbin Carroll, all of 23 years old, emerging as the biggest star of the National League postseason, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a place they haven’t been since he was in second grade.
Carroll, who should be the unanimous NL Rookie of the Year winner, became the first rookie in history to hit at least 25 homers and steal 50 bases in a single season, batting .285 with 25 homers, 54 stolen bases, scoring 116 runs with an .868 OPS.
Now, just when the D-backs thought they couldn’t be any more in awe of his performance, he is hitting .500 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and 1.632 OPS in the postseason. He has had 19 plate appearances, reached base 12 times and has led the D-backs to a 4-0 record this October.
“It’s great for everyone now to see what he’s doing on the national stage," 38-year-old veteran third baseman Evan Longoria gushes. “Pretty special player."
ROOKIE PHENOM: Corbin Carroll returns to hometown as an MLB All-Star
Just how stunning has Carroll’s performance been in October?
“I know you guys want me to give you this unbelievable answer," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said, “but I probably could have answered it in June because my jaw was on the ground with what he was doing every single day. The intensity and focus that he had, the amount of home runs that he was hitting, the bases he was stealing and the plays he was making, I just would shake my head in the dugout. I don't know how he's doing it, but I've got a front row seat to it and I'm going to enjoy this ride.
“Maybe he's spoiled me to the level where I come to expect it and it's more natural. But now that he's on a huge stage, I think he goes back to all that preparation. I think he's so mentally strong that he doesn't allow himself to get outside of what he wants to do.’’
Hey, there was a reason Chicago White Sox assistant GM Josh Barfield, the D-backs former farm director, called him “The Machine."
You’ll seldom see Carroll show emotion.
You’ll never see him rattled. You’ll never see him overly excited.
His heart rate is as consistent as a metronome.
“If you really want to see my adrenaline flowing, make me do a public speech or something," Carroll said, laughing.
But don’t let the calmness fool you. He’s deeply competitive. Rookie teammate Jake McCarthy once beat him in a foot race. Carroll won’t talk about it. Rookie Alek Thomas can beat him in "Fortnite," but Carroll makes sure Thomas’ superiority is limited to video games.
“He’s definitely way different than a lot of guys I’ve been around for my whole entire life," Thomas says. “Yeah, man, he’s definitely a unique person and he goes about his business like a different dude. I think he’s well beyond his years.
“He’s different, for sure. It seems like he’s been around for seven years. It’s cool to see him go about his business and doing what he’s doing on the field."
“The sky’s the limit for him. He’s special. I think he’s going to write his own story.’’
The Diamondbacks will tell you they believed he could be this type of player all along. It’s the reason they drafted him with the 16th pick in the 2019 draft. And once they were around him, they were so convinced he’d be a star that they gave him an eight-year, $111 million contract with a club option for a ninth year this spring.
It may be the best $100 million they ever spent, cringing to consider just what he’d be earning if they went year to year, and was a free agent after the 2028 season.
“I look at him often and I cannot believe he's 23 years old," Lovullo said. “I look at him and I'm thankful that he's going to be a Diamondback for the next 10 years."
Well, at least nine years, but who’s counting?
What makes Carroll’s rise so stunning is that he spent precious little time in the minors. He couldn’t play any minor league games in 2020 with COVID shutting down the minor leagues. His 2021 season lasted one week when he underwent shoulder surgery. He had only 539 at-bats in the minors and played 142 games.
Still, he walks in, and absolutely tears up the National League in his first season, voted as a starting outfielder at the All-Star Game in his hometown of Seattle, likely will finish in the top six of the MVP voting, and now is treating the postseason as his personal showcase.
There will be a time Carroll will step back and reflect on just what he accomplished his rookie season, but that will have to wait. There’s no time to bask in the accolades now. He’ll have a whole winter to take time and grasp just what happened this season.
“I think I'd need to sit down and think about that one," Carroll said. “Maybe more like an offseason kind of a reflection on that piece of it. Just trying to stay in the moment for now. …
“This is the most exciting, most important baseball of the year for us," Carroll said. “I don't want my mind to be anywhere except for that."
So, he’ll step into the batter’s box Wednesday night, perhaps take a quick peek at the rare sellout crowd at Chase Field, look into their faces to realize what it would mean to finally knock off the mighty Dodgers who have made life so miserable for them, and then get ready to take care of business.
“This is where I want to be," Carroll said. “This is what I've worked for. This is what this team has worked for. And just trying to enjoy it for what it is and take it a day at a time.
“Winning in the postseason, what's cooler than that?’’
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Corbin Carroll, rookie star, leads Diamondbacks to World Series
