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The Arizona Diamondbacks are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are in the National League West division.
- Founded: 1998 (National League expansion)
- Home ballpark: Bank One Ballpark (The "BOB")
- Uniform colors: Purple, Teal, and Black
- Logo design: an "A" with one leg of the "A" alternating triangles to suggest a diamondback rattlesnake. An alternate logo is a script "D" in the shape of a snake.
- Wild Card titles won (0): none
- Division titles won (3): 1999, 2001, 2002
- National League pennants won (1): 2001
- World Series championships won (1): 2001
Franchise history
In just their first five seasons of existence, the Diamondbacks won three division titles (1999, 2001, & 2002) and one World Series. In 1999, Arizona won over 100 games in only its second season to win the National League West division. They lost to the New York Mets in the first round of playoffs.
In 2001, Arizona had postseason victories over the St. Louis Cardinals (3-2 in the NLDS), the Atlanta Braves (4-1 in the NLCS), to advance to the World Series where, in one of the most exciting series ever, they beat the reigning champions, the New York Yankees, 4 to 3, to become the youngest expansion franchise to win the championship. See 2001 World Series.
By the 2004 season, however, the Diamondbacks had dropped to a dismal 51-111 record. Manager Bob Brenly was fired partway through the season and was replaced on an interim basis by Al Pedrique. Following the season, the Diamondbacks hired Wally Backman to be the team's manager. Backman was formerly manager of the Class A California League Lancaster JetHawks, one of the Diamondbacks' minor-league affilliates. Backman was then fired after a legal dispute, and Bob Melvin became the new manager after Backman's ten day tenure.
Following the Backman debacle, the Diamondbacks sought to regain their credibility by spending on free agents in order to build a contender. But to the chagrin of their savvy fans, the club committed more than $80M to an injury-prone 3B (Troy Glaus), a starting pitcher who finished second in the major leagues in walks in both 2003 and 2004 (Russ Ortiz), and a pair of offensively-challenged middle infielders (Royce Clayton and Craig Counsell). Then, traded Randy Johnson to the Yankees, while acquiring Javier Vázquez, Brad Halsey and Shawn Green in a triple deal that includes the Dodgers, and sent Shea Hillenbrand to the Blue Jays, and Stephen Randolph to the Cubs.
Players of note
Current 40-man roster
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Not to be forgotten
Retired numbers
Minor league affiliates
External links
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