Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson / Presswire
Time for us to figure out who is on the Mount Rushmore of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Here are the top 15 batters and pitchers, each by WAR:
| Rk | Player | WAR/pos | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Gonzalez | 28.3 | 1999 | 2006 |
| 2 | Steve Finley | 16.9 | 1999 | 2004 |
| 3 | Chris Young | 12.8 | 2006 | 2012 |
| 4 | Stephen Drew | 11.7 | 2006 | 2011 |
| 5 | Justin Upton | 11.3 | 2007 | 2012 |
| 6 | Craig Counsell | 11.1 | 2000 | 2006 |
| 7 | Orlando Hudson | 9.5 | 2006 | 2008 |
| 8 | Jay Bell | 8.7 | 1998 | 2002 |
| 9 | Matt Williams | 7.4 | 1998 | 2003 |
| 10 | Miguel Montero | 7.4 | 2006 | 2012 |
| 11 | Damian Miller | 5.4 | 1998 | 2002 |
| 12 | Chad Tracy | 5.2 | 2004 | 2009 |
| 13 | Ryan Roberts | 4.9 | 2009 | 2012 |
| 14 | Junior Spivey | 4.8 | 2001 | 2003 |
| 15 | Mark Reynolds | 4.7 | 2007 | 2010 |
Justin Upton has posted the 3rd-highest single-season WAR total among batters, and other surprising entries in the top 10 include Craig Counsell, Jay Bell, and Orlando Hudson. It’s also surprising that Mark Grace doesn’t show up on the list above.
| Rk | Player | WAR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | 50.7 | 1999 | 2008 |
| 2 | Brandon Webb | 31.5 | 2003 | 2009 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | 25.0 | 2000 | 2003 |
| 4 | Dan Haren | 12.5 | 2008 | 2010 |
| 5 | Miguel Batista | 10.9 | 2001 | 2006 |
| 6 | Byung-Hyun Kim | 7.9 | 1999 | 2007 |
| 7 | Ian Kennedy | 7.6 | 2010 | 2012 |
| 8 | Doug Davis | 6.7 | 2007 | 2009 |
| 9 | Brian Anderson | 6.7 | 1998 | 2002 |
| 10 | Omar Daal | 6.3 | 1998 | 2000 |
| 11 | Jose Valverde | 5.4 | 2003 | 2007 |
| 12 | Daniel Hudson | 4.8 | 2010 | 2012 |
| 13 | Greg Swindell | 3.8 | 1999 | 2002 |
| 14 | Juan Cruz | 3.5 | 2006 | 2008 |
| 15 | Andy Benes | 3.3 | 1998 | 1999 |
On the pitching side, the highest single-season WAR by a guy not named Johnson, Schilling, Webb, or Haren was 4.7, in 2011, by Ian Kennedy, and that’s good for only 15th on the list!
Alright, have a peek at the poll below. Vote for 4 guys.
No Matt Williams? He is, after all, a part of the Legends Race pictured above that includes Gonzalez, Big Unit, and Mark Grace. Not sure why Grace is considered a legend in his time with the D-Backs.
It’s mostly because Grace is currently
one of the team’s announcers.
I voted for RJ, Schilling, L.Gonzalez and Upton (who if he can have a year close to what he had last year, he’ll be pretty close to #2 on the D-bags, er D-backs hitting list with plenty of time to get to the #1 spot).
I am glad to get the Rays and D-backs out of the way because I don’t think either team is terribly interesting. Rockies and Marlins will be slightly better but also a bit painful.
Marlins are going to be interesting because most of their good players were only there for 3 or 4 years. Jeff Conine better be on there…
For the D-Backs I think Schilling/Johnson/Gonzo are a given and you can plug anyone in the 4th spot. For me I took Upton because of expected future production but Finley or Webb are better choices for “what have you done so far.”
Give me the diamondbacks as a team that wouldn’t put up 4 faces yet for $200 alex…
Randy Johnson (deserved)
Luis Gonzalez (because of the bloop single to win the WS)
Curt Schilling (because he probably won’t make it for Boston or Philadelphia)
Brandon Webb (because he is the best of the guys you think of as a Diamondback first)
Write-in candidates: Tony Womack and Bob Brenley
In my post for the Devil Rays/Rays, I said how I thought it would be easier to choose 4 guys for teams with less reasonable candidates, as opposed to 100+ year teams (contrary to Andy who suggested it would be tougher). Now I see what he meant. It is tougher to actually get reasonable candidates, like for Arizona.
I’d go with heroes from 1999 and/or 2001, the D-Backs’ two most memorable years. In 1999 they won the NL West by 14 games and won 100 in their second year of existence. Obviously, in 2001 Luis Gonzalez’ single won them the World Series over the Yanks. So I’d vote for Big Unit, Schilling, Gonzalez, and Matt Williams.
I can’t stand Schilling so I picked Finley instead (with Johnson, Gonzlaez & Webb), I’d be a bad HOF voter, I know
Johnson, Lugo, Upton and a player to be named later.
I know Schilling was great with the Dbacks and helped win a WS, I just tend to think of Finley and Webb more as Dbacks than I do Schilling. I would say Johnson, Webb, Finley and Gonzo.