Arizona Diamondbacks Unsung Hero: Nominations

Unsung heroes don’t get awards. Yet, here we are, getting ready to draw up a short-list of the people who contributed most to the Diamondbacks’ success in 2017, yet were overlooked in the greater scheme of things. Perhaps the best way to go about it is to start with a list of the people who are not eligible, mostly through their efforts having already been acknowledged elsewhere. Here are those I think should be crossed off the list:

• Archie Bradley - lightning rod, MVP vote
• Paul Goldschmidt - All-Star, MVP candidate
• Zack Greinke - All-Star, Cy Young candidate
• Jake Lamb - All-Star
• Torey Lovullo - Manager of the Year
• J.D. Martinez - MVP votes
• Robbie Ray - All-Star, Cy Young votes
• Fernando Rodney - closer

All of the above, I think are probably too high-profile to be considered “unsung,” with each of them having received adequate attention. If you’re looking for the team’s WAR leaders, then on the position player front, names like Chris Iannetta, David Peralta and A.J. Pollock top the list, while among the pitchers, the leading names are Patrick Corbin, Zack Godley and Taijuan Walker. Perhaps you consider Jeff Mathis, and his role in helping the pitching staff improve worthy of a nod. It could be a member of the coaching staff, including bench coach Ron Gardenhire. Or if you’re looking for truly unsung, what about pitching coach Mike Butcher?

This is always one of the more unpredictable awards, and I am absolutely open to any of the above or other suggestions you may care to make. I’ll add the nine names listed above as comments to the post when it is published. I will likely end up using the five names - whether from those, or an independent suggestion - which get the most “recs” as the candidates for the final poll on Wednesday.