Arizona Diamondbacks’ first half of 2014 season: By the Numbers
Jul 18, 2014, 12:58 AM | Updated: 12:58 am
The last time the Arizona Diamondbacks took the field they suffered an 8-4 loss in San Francisco, leaving them to limp into the All-Star break with a 40-56 record — good for last in the National League.
From season-ending injuries and mixed results on the mound to poor play in the field and notable droughts at the dish, the D-backs’ 2014 campaign has certainly been filled with more lows than highs.
Here’s a look back Arizona’s bumpy road to the All-Star break, by the numbers:
0
The D-backs have yet to spend a single day at or above the .500 mark this season.
3
Elbow injuries and Tommy John surgery have become commonplace in Major League Baseball so far this season, no more so than in Arizona.
The D-backs have already lost three pitchers — Bronson Arroyo, David Hernandez and Patrick Corbin — to the season-ending surgery this season alone.
9
The D-backs have explored plenty of options in their outfield. At the break, Arizona has used nine outfielders — A.J. Pollock, Alfredo Marte, Cody Ross, David Peralta, Ender Inciarte, Gerardo Parra, Mark Trumbo, Roger Kieschnick and Tony Campana.
10 Part I
In addition to shuffling through outfielders, Arizona has also used its fair share of starting pitchers (10) — Chase Anderson, Arroyo, Mike Bolsinger, Trevor Cahill, Josh Collmenter, Randall Delgado, Wade Miley, Brandon McCarthy, Vidal Nuno and Zeke Spruill — in 96 games. The most starters the D-backs have ever used in a season is 12.
15-12
While their overall record might not indicate as much, the D-backs have actually done rather well in tight games. Of the 27 one-run games Kirk Gibson and Co. have have played in this year, they’re 15-12.
16
Arizona sits 16 games below .500 — its worst record at the break since the 2004 campaign. That season, the D-backs finished 51-111.
17
Home is not where the heart is for the D-backs — at least not in the first half. Arizona’s 17 home wins are the fewest in all of baseball.
18
One of the organization’s few bright spots on the campaign came back on May 17. That evening, the D-backs plated a franchise-record 18 runs off of Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers en route to an 11-run victory.
26, 27 and 28
Arizona’s pitching staff ranks 26th in ERA (4.23), 27th in quality starts (39), 27th in opposing batting average (.266), 27th in shutouts (3) and 28th in opposing slugging percentage (.426).
36
Paul Goldschmidt’s 36 doubles are the most ever by a D-back at the All-Star break. Goldschmidt was also be the first Arizona player to start for the NL since Luis Gonzalez (2001).
52
Catcher Miguel Montero, who is headed to his second All-Star Game this week in Minneapolis, has a career-high 52 RBI before the break. In 2011 and 2012, he had 45 RBI at the “midway point.”
96
If it seems like the D-backs had a really busy first half, it’s because they did. Arizona played in a franchise-record 96 games before the All-Star break.
99
D-backs pitchers have allowed 99 home runs in 2014, including 17 by Wade Miley.
2008
Speaking of Goldschmidt, the reigning NL MVP runner-up is the first player since Lance Berkman (2008) to bat at least .300 with 100 hits, 30 doubles and 15 home runs before the All-Star break. He’s the 15th player to achieve the feat since 1998.
