Legends of the Fall

No one ever thought it would be them. Truth be told, when sports pundits were making their forecasts before the beginning of this year’s baseball season, the Arizona Diamondbacks were expected to finish dead last in their division. To the surprise of many, however, such predictions proved to be dead...

By Benjamin Leatherman

September 29, 2011

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No one ever thought it would be them. Truth be told, when sports pundits were making their forecasts before the beginning of this year’s baseball season, the Arizona Diamondbacks were expected to finish dead last in their division. To the surprise of many, however, such predictions proved to be dead wrong.

Fueled by both the one-two pitching punch of Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson and an explosive offense starring sluggers like Justin Upton and Ryan “Tatman” Roberts, the D-Backs shocked the baseball world and managed to win their division. They trumped the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, perfected the art of the come-from-behind win, and put together one of the more memorable seasons in team history.

Now comes their next challenge: Beating the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series. Despite an imposing array of such hitters as Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder (as well as a pitching rotation populated by Yovani Gallardo and Zack Grienke), the Brew Crew isn’t infallible. In fact, Arizona beat Milwaukee enough times this year to win the season series between the teams. And if they upend Fielder and company during Game Three of the NLDS on Tuesday, October 4, at Chase Field, 401 East Jefferson Street, they stand a chance at extending their Cinderella season a little longer.
Tue., Oct. 4, 2011

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Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music, and nightlife. He began writing for New Times in 2003 and joined the staff full-time in 2005. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Benjamin Leatherman

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