The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, in their fourth year of existence, looked to improve on their 2000 season. They had to contend in what was a strong National League West Division.

Arizona had the best one-two pitching combination in the majors: Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, who combined for 43 victories. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez slugged 57 home runs. They finished the regular season with a record of 92-70, which was good enough for the division title.

In the playoffs, they won their NLDS matchup vs. St. Louis on a walk-off hit by Tony Womack. They defeated the Braves in five games in the NLCS. In the World Series, they won a dramatic seven-game series against the New York Yankees on a walk-off hit by Gonzalez, against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The Arizona Diamondbacks became the fastest expansion franchise in Major League Baseball history to win a World Series title in just their fourth season.

Offseason [edit]

• November 2, 2000: Ken Huckaby was signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.^[1]
• December 8, 2000: Mark Grace signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.^[2]
• December 15, 2000: Midre Cummings was signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.^[3]
• March 8, 2001: Mike Mohler was signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.^[4]

Regular season [edit]

• Randy Johnson recorded 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the Cincinnati Reds on May 8, 2001.^[5] Johnson shares the record with Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood.
• On July 19, 2001, Johnson set another record when the previous night's game against the San Diego Padres was delayed by two electrical explosions that knocked out a light tower in Qualcomm Stadium. When the game resumed the following day, Johnson replaced original starter Curt Schilling in the top of the third inning. He pitched the next seven innings, and struck out 16 Padres.^[5] Johnson set a new record for strikeouts in a relief appearance, a record that was set 88 years previously by Walter Johnson, who struck out 15 batters in 11⅓ innings on July 25, 1913.^[5]
• Johnson went on to win 20 games for the second time in his career while striking out over 300 hitters for the fourth consecutive year. On October 2, 2001, Randy Johnson earned his 200th career win.^[5]

Opening Day starters [edit]

• Jay Bell
• David Dellucci
• Steve Finley
• Luis Gonzalez
• Mark Grace
• Damian Miller
• Armando Reynoso
• Matt Williams
• Tony Womack ^[6]

Season standings [edit]

Notable transactions [edit]

• June 5, 2001: Dan Uggla was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 2001.^[7]
• June 5, 2001: Ian Kinsler was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 26th round of the 2001 amateur draft, but did not sign.^[8]

Roster [edit]

Player stats [edit]

Batting [edit]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

^[9]

Other batters [edit]

Starting pitchers [edit]

^[9]

Other pitchers [edit]

Relief pitchers [edit]

NLDS [edit]

Arizona wins the series, 3-2

NLCS [edit]

World series [edit]

Game 1 [edit]

October 27, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Game 2 [edit]

October 28, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Game 3 [edit]

October 30, 2001 at Yankee Stadium in New York

Game 4 [edit]

October 31, 2001 at Yankee Stadium in New York

Game 5 [edit]

November 1, 2001 at Yankee Stadium in New York

Game 6 [edit]

November 3, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Game 7 [edit]

November 4, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Awards and honors [edit]

• Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, Pitchers, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year
• Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, Pitchers, World Series Most Valuable Player

• Craig Counsell, National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player
• Luis Gonzalez, National League Silver Slugger Award
• Randy Johnson, National League Cy Young Award
• Curt Schilling, Hutch Award^[10]
• Curt Schilling, Pitcher, Roberto Clemente Award

2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

League leaders [edit]

Luis Gonzalez

• #3 in NL in home runs (57)
• #3 in NL in RBI (142)
• #3 in NL in slugging percentage (.688)
• #4 in NL in runs scored (128)

Randy Johnson

• Led MLB in ERA (2.49)
• Led MLB in strikeouts (372)
• #3 in NL in wins (21)

Curt Schilling

• Led MLB in wins (22)
• Led NL in complete games (6)
• #2 in NL in ERA (2.98)
• #2 in NL in strikeouts (293)

Farm system [edit]

^[11]

References [edit]

1. ^ Ken Huckaby Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
2. ^ Mark Grace Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
3. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cummimi01.shtml
4. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mohlemi01.shtml
5. ^ ^{a b c d} The Ballplayers - Randy Johnson | BaseballLibrary.com
6. ^ 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks Roster by Baseball Almanac
7. ^ Dan Uggla Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
8. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kinslia01.shtml
9. ^ ^{a b} http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ARI/2001.shtml
10. ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_hut.shtml
11. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007

External links [edit]

• Arizona Diamondbacks official web site
• 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks team page at Baseball Reference
• 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

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