Arizona Diamondbacks 20th Anniversary Team: First Baseman

For the first 14 seasons of the franchise, the team has been shuffling around first baseman. In 2011, that changed when a bad-body slugger from Texas turned into one of the game’s best players and Top 5 in the franchise.

Paul Goldschmidt: Yeah, this is one is rather easy to figure out. The Dbacks drafted him in the 8th round of the 2009 Draft and signed him to a 5-figure bonus before literally the best case career arc occurred. Goldschmidt has been the face of the franchise since 2013, although I’d argue earlier and the best player to suit up as a Diamondback since Randy Johnson. Goldschmidt does everything you’d want in a player, hits for average, power, steal bases, plays good defense, and overall a very humble guy. Goldschmidt has always had that flair for stepping up when his team needs him most to deliver a big hit, almost to the point of taking it for granted. Goldy’s tenure in Arizona likely ends with his #44 getting retired.

Conor Jackson: Given the revolving door at 1B, the next best candidate is another homegrown stud. Jackson doesn’t hold a candle to Goldy, but I expect some troll votes. Jackson was drafted as an outfielder, but was groomed to be the 1B of the franchise. Jackson was a good player, but didn’t stand out as much as he could. His main skill set was strike zone judgment and ability to hit doubles, which is a decent skill set for Chase Field. Jackson suffered from valley fever in 2009, but never really recovered due to the amount of time he lost from that illness. Jackson qualifies at 1B given that was the position he played the most game with the Dbacks.