COLUMN: D-Backs in World Series a long time coming that nobody saw

Let’s go all the way back to April 19 in St. Louis.

Madison Bumgardner, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ highest-paid player and big free agent signing in 2020, was run off the mound at Busch Stadium after giving up seven runs in three innings in a 14-5 loss to the Cardinals.

Bumgardner was designated for assignment the next day, released the next week, and hasn’t been on a mound since.

Yet if the Diamondbacks defeat the Texas Rangers in the World Series, he will have his fourth championship ring.

Funny how things work out in baseball.

The Diamondbacks stunned the Philadelphia Phillies and broke through the mystique of their home-field advantage to make it to their first World Series since 2001. Imagine that, this franchise has only been around for 25 years yet had a 22-year World Series drought. The Diamondbacks made the playoffs only four times since winning the World Series entering this year.

Nobody saw this coming. The Diamondbacks went 52-110 in 2021 and every move made seemed to go sideways. Manager Torey Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen somehow survived that season and charted a course for this moment. A shrewd move to acquire outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and catcher Gabriel Moreno in an offseason trade with Toronto, the breakout of rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll after signing a massive deal before his debut, and the 1-2 pitching punch of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly got them to this point.

Then there’s Evan Longoria, who started his career as the Tampa Bay Rays’ savior in 2008. His remarkable rookie season led the then-downtrodden young franchise to its first winning season, division title, playoff appearance, AL title, and World Series appearance. It was also the year the Phillies won their first championship since 1980. A 15-year career goes by for Longoria without returning to the Fall Classic and he had to slay the Phillies in their home ballpark to finally make it back.

That’s a feel-good, full circle sports story you only get in baseball.

Nobody saw this coming. Arizona started the National League Championship Series with two straight losses in Philadelphia. After that, many thought (myself included) that a second straight trip to the Fall Classic for the Phillies was inevitable. We’re talking about a team that rode power-hitting and the charge of their home crowd to the World Series last year. How could they not seal the series with this advantage?

Two comebacks later sparked new life for the Diamondbacks. A simple small sign from a fan that read “Snakes alike” signified their fight. Ketel Marte hit a walk-off in Game 3 and Alek Thomas hit a pinch-hit home run to spark a 3-run rally in the eighth inning to win Game 4, 6-5.

A 6-1 win by the Phillies in Game 5 brought the series back to Philadelphia with their aces set up for Game 6 and a solid third pitcher for Game 7. Victory was supposedly at hand.

The Diamondbacks went into Game 7 with a rookie. Brandon Pfaadt made it to the big leagues this season and went 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA in 96 innings during the regular season. However, in the postseason, he has pitched in the Wild Card Series clincher against Milwaukee, the NLDS clincher against Los Angeles, and Game 3 and Game 7 against Philadelphia.

And has won every game.

Pfaadt, who has a 2.70 ERA in the postseason, was seen on camera reading his bible before taking the mound in the bottom of the first inning. He gave up only two runs and struck out seven batters in four innings and is going to the World Series.

If that is not a reason to believe, then what is?