Travis Lee Sparks Red Team Over White Team In Alumni Game

Photo Courtesy of Arizona Diamondbacks On Google Plus

Lets be honest. The 2014 season for the Arizona Diamondbacks hasn’t been a whole lot of fun for anybody. Its a season that the players, coaches, front office, and ownership would want to forget. For the fans who are so loyal and dedicated to this team win or loose, this season has been especially tough. The Dbacks are on pace to have their worst season since 2004 when they lost 111 games finishing in last place in the National League West. They have had more impact injuries at the wrong times than they can count, and the month of April wasn’t pretty.

Even during a disappointing season, the Dbacks organization has always done a great job entertaining fans, and making it fun to come to the ballpark everyday. That is why Arizona remains one of the best organizations in all of baseball.

One of the best events of the year is the Alumni Game. For the third year in a row, Dbacks legends and former players got together to play a three inning game after the Dbacks lost 2-0 to the Rockies on Saturday night.

The red team was managed by Luis Gonzalez who also placed himself third in the batting order, and the white team was managed by former Snakes starting pitcher Greg Swindell. A crowd of 27,272 showed up for the regular season game, and the majority of them stayed to see their past heroes battle it out. The Alumni Game was free with a paid ticket to the regular game.

Current color analyst Bob Brenly who was the manager in 2001 when the Dbacks won the World Series over the Yankees served as the commissioner of the event. Brandon Webb served as a bullpen coach for the Red team.

Travis Lee, who was known as the Original Diamondback because he collected the franchise’s first ever hit, drove in the go ahead runs in the top of the third, and Gonzo’s team came back to beat the white team 3-1. Luis Gonzalez also played a big role in his team’s win. He doubled on a blooper to left field beating the shift in his first at bat, and he walked and scored in the third.

The white team got on the board first when Mark Little singled in Erubiel Durazo in the bottom of the second. The Red team got it going offensively in the third off right-hander Russ Ortiz. He allowed a single to Alex Cintron, and a pair of walks to load the bases. Shea Hillenbrand drove in the first run to tie the game on a sac fly, and then Lee singled hard to right off Scott Brow to give the red team the lead.

This is what Gonzo told MLB.com after the game:

“Winning never gets old,” said left fielder Luis Gonzalez, who managed the Red team. “So it’s nice to do it, especially wearing a Diamondbacks uniform. This is a fantastic night. The fans really supported us and we love to come out and see everybody.”

This is a great event for all the fans, and I was glad to see them having a good time. I certainly enjoyed watching the game online. I hope to attend this event at some point in my lifetime.