Ten Things We’re Thankful For: 2013

Camelback IPA (Jeff Wiser): Aside from my writing here at Inside the Zona, I record the beer drinker’s experience over at BeerGraphs and often blog about stellar microbrews. Well, it’s important to acknowledge that nothing’s finer than a Camelback IPA at Chase Field. Although this beer isn’t stellar by any means, it’s far better than the overpriced domestics that it competes with, plus it comes in an awesome 22oz. bomber, adding to the appeal. If you haven’t had one yet, order some tamales down the left field line and grab a Camelback IPA next time you’re in the ballpark.

Walkoffs (Ryan P. Morrison): This season didn’t have a lot of highs or lows — there were no winning or losing streaks longer than 5 games, the team’s run differential was second-closest to zero in the sport, and a .500 record for the second season in a row was what we had to show for it.  What we did have, though, was walkoffs — 13 walkoff wins, and 7 walkoff losses.  It seemed like lead changes were very common.  And that three-game set against the Orioles featuring three walkoffs, and that 0.764 WPA performance in which Paul Goldschmidt hit a game-tying home run in the ninth and another to win it in the eleventh.

Brandon McCarthy’s twitter feed (JW): If you’re already part of the Twittersphere, odds are that you follow Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon McCarthy. Known as one of the better tweeters in baseball, he drops twitter dimes on the daily. For example, a week ago he pondered flossing etiquette while at the dentist’s office and back in June he destroyed MLB Network anchorman Mitch Williams with a barrage of epic tweets. McCarthy has just the right amount of snark to his tweets, making them laugh-worthy more often than not. Warning: if you’re going to tweet at him, just make sure you come correct or he’ll put you in your place (speaking from experience).

Derrick Hall (RPM): I’ve never met Hall personally, but it says a lot that many D-backs fans have.  It also says a lot that a year after being the second-best regarded franchise in baseball, Arizona was first among MLB teams and sixth overall in ESPN the Magazine’s Ultimate Standings rankings this year.  Fan relations and “bang for the buck” was a big part of that math, and it’s not like that part of Arizona’s resume was propped up by its winning percentage.  Hall was a big part of that.  I don’t know his work well enough to say that he’d make a great MLB commissioner, as rumored, but it sure seems like it.  And we do know that the team would be better off if he stayed.

The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro (JW): there are a countless number of beat reporters out there. Fortunately, the Diamondbacks are covered by one of the best in business in Nick Piecoro. His blog is a veritable gold mine and he’s often among the first to break Diamondbacks-related news. On top of being a good reporter, he’s plugged into the minor league scene and is a sabermetric thinker, even being featured on a number of FanGraphs podcasts. In a sea of cookie-cutter reporters, Piecoro shines through and is a must for any serious Diamondbacks fan.

Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly (RPM): Since the advent of MLB.tv, my baseball-watching habits have been pretty far flung.  To be honest, I only started watching most D-backs games this season, because I enjoyed this broadcast team so much.  I’m not sure most D-backs fans appreciate how rare a treat it is to have a color guy like Brenly — with plenty of experience in the booth, but also as a manager, and as a World Series winner with the same franchise.  I tell people in Boston it would be like having Terry Francona do games, but only if he he already had color experience.  And Berthiaume?  His transition to play-by-play was seamless, I thought, until it seemed like he improved over the course of this season.  Few play-by-play guys are students of the sport the way Berthiaume is, and I really appreciate it when he shares things he read about opposing teams.  The bottom line is that when I watch D-backs games, I learn new things I didn’t know before, about the D-backs, about other teams, and about baseball.  That’s a rare thing.

Gerardo Parra’s throwing arm (JW): There’s no shortage or reasons to geek-out over right fielder Gerardo Parra (G!). Well, he can’t steal bases, but aside from that, Parra is a real treat to watch. His range in right is top-notch but his throwing arm is a joy to see when he shows it off, such as when he gunned down Yasiel Puig back in June. He’s got an absolute cannon for a arm and he reminds me of Ichiro when he unleashes lasers to third base. Runners often don’t test him often, but when they do, it’s reason to stop and stare in amazement.

Paul Goldschmidt’s breakout (RPM): Maybe Arizona had its own set of expectations for Goldy, and maybe that’s why the signed him to one of the most valuable (for the team) contracts in Major League Baseball.  But no one really saw this coming.  Paul Goldschmidt was supposed to be a solid contributor, a second-division-team starter, a guy who was valuable mostly because he helped in a lot of ways.  In 2012, his first full season, Goldy was worth 2.9 Wins Above Replacement; more “very good player” than “All-Star” or “superstar.”  This season, Goldy finished second in the MVP voting, higher than any other D-back ever had.  His 6.4 WAR is an incredible mark.  Goldy was very consistent all season, other than a few pronounced slumps — so even though it would be foolish to expect the same performance in 2014, there’s good reason to believe that he’s really this good.  What a fun thing to watch this year.

Chase Field (JW): Diamondback fans are spoiled as Chase Field is an epic place to catch a ball game. Most of the time, the roof is open and there are some beautiful Arizona nights to take in. It’s almost always warm and you never have to freeze your butt off in the outfield bleachers just to catch a game like fans in other parts of the country. While everyone’s bundled up at Wrigley in April and September, Arizona baseball fans will be comfortable in shorts and t-shirts. It’s the most picturesque, comfortable, enjoyable baseball experience I can think of. Enjoy it folks, because it doesn’t get any better!

Hugs (RPM): Another thing that defined the D-backs this season?  Thanks in large part to Gerardo Parra, that was hugs, hugs, and more hugs.  I think Arizona led the league in hugs.  For a team that had a lot of players sharing playing time, it was kind of amazing that positive team chemistry was so pronounced this year.  For us fans, it also felt good to watch a feel-good team, and I’m glad we have essentially the same crew returning next year.

That brings us to a kind of a hug of our own: thanks to you readers.  We are almost up to 100 posts at this point, and it’s been a lot of fun to research answers to some of the questions we had about the Diamondbacks.  We hope you’ve enjoyed the time you’ve spent on the site, and we look forward to digging in even deeper over the next year.