Players who you forgot were Arizona Diamondbacks

Sometimes, players have short stints with teams at the very start or end of their careers. However, they are mostly known for one team. For example, John Smoltz is most famous for his tenure with the Atlanta Braves, but did you know he pitched for the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals in the last season of his career? Vlad Guerrero Jr. spent a lot of time with the Montreal Expos and Anaheim Angels, but his last big league season was in Baltimore.

There have definitely been some players like this throughout the Arizona Diamondbacks’ franchise history, and you may have forgotten about their stint with the Snakes because it lasted one season or less. Their careers were far from defined by their Diamondbacks tenure, but their careers took a brief stop in Arizona at one point.

Mike Hampton

Mike Hampton is best remembered for two things. The first was his tenure in Houston. From 1995 through 1999, Hampton pitched 984.2 innings to the tune of 124 ERA+, 3.85 FIP, and 1.34 WHIP. In Hampton’s final season in Houston, he finished second in Cy Young voting and made the All-Star game.

The second thing Hampton is known for is his disastrous contract with the Colorado Rockies. After spending the 2000 season with the NY Mets, he signed an eight-year contract worth $121 million. At the time, this was a record-setting deal. But he registered just a 78 ERA+ between his two seasons in Colorado. Ironically, he provided more value as a hitter than he did as a pitcher. He was salary dumped to the Atlanta Braves, where he rebounded and was a solid pitcher from 2003 to 2005.

But injuries would keep Hampton out of the game for two years. He finished off his eight-year contract in 2008 and returned to Houston in 2009. He didn’t pitch well there, with a 78 ERA+ once again. Hampton’s final hurrah in the Majors would be with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010.

Hampton’s stint in Arizona lasted all of ten games and 4.1 innings in September 2010. Hampton went scoreless in all of his appearances for the D-Backs, striking out three and only walking one batter, but it was an intentional walk. However, the former All-Star would retire in May 2011.

Michael Bourn

Michael Bourn was an extremely fast defensive first outfielder who made two all-star games in the early 2010s. From 2009 through 2013, Bourn batted .277/.342/.375 with a wRC+ of just 97. Overall, this was slightly below league-average production. But his decent OBP helped him get on base enough to make his speed extremely valuable. He averaged 48 stolen bases a season through these five years. He was also an astounding defensive CF with +64 defensive runs saved and two Gold Gloves.

Bourn wasn’t really known for just one team. He was an All-Star for both the Houston Astros (2010) and Atlanta Braves (2012). He also appeared in parts of three seasons with Cleveland. However, the last team you probably think of when you see him is the Arizona Diamondbacks, the second to last team he would play for in the Majors.

Bourn had come off what was easily the worst year of his career in 2015. The speedy outfielder had to settle for a minor league contract with Arizona, and he mostly served as the team’s center fielder. Bourn appeared in 89 games with the D-Backs, batting .261/.307/.362. He did swipe 13 bags in 18 attempts, and his defense up the middle was still decent. He had +2 DRS in just 604.2 innings.

But with the Diamondbacks 20 games under .500 at the August deadline, they shipped him to the Baltimore Orioles for minor league outfielder Jason Heinrich. Although Bourn would have a quality month of September, this would be his final appearance in the Show. He signed another contract with the O’s in April of 2017 but was released by the end of May. Bourn was then signed by the LA Angels at the start of June but was released a month later.