The Diamondbacks have been in the MLB since 1998. From then to now, fans have seen countless numbers of new faces and legendary ones they'll never forget.
In 2001, Arizona fans got to witness an all-time classic World Series. Their underdog Diamondbacks were victorious in a nail-biting game 7 that clinched their first and only championship title.
Through the years there have been many ups and downs; As of today, Arizona is 6 games above .500 and they sit in the 3rd wild card spot with just over a month left in the season.
Phonebooks are essentially pointless nowadays, but if you were to use one for the current roster, Austin Adams would be in the front of the book and Christian Walker would be in the back.
Adams is currently on the 60-day IL. Before he fractured his right ankle, he appeared in 24 games out of the bullpen. His numbers were not great (5.71 ERA) and hopefully, he can bounce back next season for this pitching staff.
In the back of the book, you would find Christian Walker. Walker is having a fine season. Here is where he ranks among NL players in 2023: 4th in extra-base hits, 5th in RBIs, and 9th in OPS. He also leads all first basemen in outs above average (10) and runs prevented (8).
Do you have any guesses on who would be in the front and back in team history?
Which 2 Diamondbacks players in team history would be at the front and back of the phonebook?
In the front, you would find a man by the name of Tony Abreu (Infielder).
Abreu was signed by the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent on October 17, 2002. After appearing in 65 games with LA from 2007-2009, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in a deal that sent Jon Garland to the Dodgers.
2010 was Abreu’s only year with Arizona; For good reason. He played in 81 games and really really struggled at the plate. He had a modest batting average (.233) but his OPS was .560.
To add icing to that cake, he walked in only 2% of his plate appearances and struck out in 23% of them. Definitely a very forgettable name in Diamondbacks history.
In the back of the book, you would find a man named Alan Zinter (First Baseman). Once again, a forgettable name in Diamondbacks history.
Zinter was highly thought of back in the day. In 1989, Zinter was selected in the first round of the draft by the NY Mets. He spent the majority of his professional career in the minors (1,651 games) before getting called up by the Astros in 2002.
In 2004, he appeared for Arizona but once again, it was very forgettable. He played 28 games, batted .206, and struck out in almost 38% of his plate appearances.
Zinter finally made a splash after his playing days and became an MLB coach. He served as the hitting coach for 3 different teams (Astros, Padres, and Reds) and was even named Assistant Director of Player Development by 1 team (Giants).
Zinter’s last season of coaching was in 2022 with Cincinnati. It’s likely that he will now retire or find a coaching job elsewhere.