Remember 2011: D-backs eliminated from NL West as Dodgers claim 10th title in 11 years

It’s now an even dozen, officially.

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the NL West title for the 10th time in 11 seasons with a 6-2 win in 11 innings over the Seattle Mariners Saturday.

With the win, the Arizona Diamondbacks marked 12 straight years –since 2011 — in which they did not capture the National League West Division crown.

While the D-backs are still competing for a wild card berth, the 2011 season was memorable for a plethora of reasons.

The 2011 Diamondbacks went 94-68, the third most victories in team history, trailing only the 1999 and 2002 seasons.

In an indication of how times have changed, in 2011 the D-backs finished 8 games ahead of the second place San Francisco Giants and 11.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the fifth division title in team history.

That 2011 squad was led offensively by OF Justin Upton, 2B Aaron Hill, OF Gerardo Parra, 1B Lyle Overbay and OF Willie Bloomquist.

Ian Kennedy had perhaps his best year on the hill, with a 21-4 record and a 2.88 ERA in 222 innings. Daniel Hudson was not too bad, either, with a 16-12 record and a 3.49 ERA in 222 innings. Josh Collmenter and Joe Saunders also had some of their best season performances, notching double-digit victories.

And who could forget 2011 was also the year that Paul Goldschmidt began his MLB career? His grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division series showed how valuable a player he would be to the franchise and throughout his career.

The 2011 season ended disappointingly, however, with a 3-2 loss to the Brewers in the NLDS.

While the wild card would be special this season – as it was in 2017, the last time the D-backs qualified for the postseason – a NL West title in 2024 would be better.