Arizona Diamondbacks 20th Anniversary Team: Right-Handed Starting Pitchers

It’s been 20 years of Arizona Diamondbacks baseball and now is the time to honor that milestone. During the dead time between the end of the winter meetings and the Christmas holidays, to pass the time I have decided that the AZ Snake Pit community do their part in selecting the 20th anniversary team.

This is how it’s going to work:

1. There will be 2-4 candidates at each position to choose from. Each position includes RH starting pitcher, LH starting pitcher, catcher, 1st baseman, 2nd baseman, shortstop, 3rd baseman, left field, center field, right field, and closer.
2. I will outline the candidacy of each player on the ballot in the post leading up to the poll on the bottom. Some positions you can probably just skip to the poll given the answer being rather obvious.
3. You only have 24 hours to vote after the last article posts. This is done for the sake of speed. After the 11 spots are taken care of a Google form will be posted as the last article for you to pick the final 14 players on the roster.

Let’s begin with voting Right-Handed Starters.

Curt Schilling: Acquired by the Diamondbacks at the 2000 trade deadline, Schilling combined with Randy Johnson to form one of the best duos in baseball history. Schilling was one of the best command and control pitchers in baseball history, although in his 3 ¹⁄₂ seasons in Arizona he ended up finishing 2nd in the Cy Young award to his teammate in 2001 and 2002. He was an instrumental pitcher for the Diamondbacks 2001 World Series championship, starting Game 5 of the NLDS as well as Games 1, 4, and 7 of the World Series where Schilling shut down the Yankees for 4 runs in 21 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Brandon Webb: Drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 8th round of the 2000 Draft, the big bodied sinker baller from Kentucky turned into one of the most dominant ground ball pitchers in baseball history. His sinker had unnatural movement, with many batters unable to do anything but beat the ball into the ground. Webb was a 3-time All-Star and the only pitcher not named Randy Johnson to win a Cy Young award as a Diamondback. If not for a shoulder injury that effectively ended his career in 2009, Webb would be the clear runaway favorite. All of Webb’s MLB appearances came as a Diamondback.

Dan Haren: The Diamondbacks picked up Haren in the 2007 Winter Meetings and helped to form a formidable 1-2 punch with Webb for the good part of 2008. Haren was another control specialist, although not as dominant as Schilling. Haren was a 2-time All-Star in the only two full seasons he pitched in Arizona. The Dbacks traded Haren at the 2010 deadline and are still benefitting from that deal with Patrick Corbin still providing a lot of value for the Diamondbacks. Haren has since retired and is helping the Dbacks win by helping with game planning against opponents.

Zack Greinke: I’ll add Greinke as a recency bias candidate although I don’t expect him to be in the running at the 25th anniversary team due to another pitcher named Zack G. The Diamondbacks signed Greinke to a record-breaking contract by franchise history standards and MLB history in terms of average. A first season ended with disappointment and injuries. A second ended with Greinke pitching at an All-Star level and helping the Diamondbacks reach the postseason for the first time since 2011. Greinke is slated to be on the 2018 team unless a trade offer the Diamondbacks front office can’t refuse materializes in the coming days.