(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks went from winning just 52 games in 2021 to 74 in 2022 and 84 in 2023.
Those 84 victories were enough to sneak into the playoffs as one of the Wild Cards this year, and once in the postseason, the D-Backs have done nothing but defy the odds.
They eliminated the NL Central champs, the Milwaukee Brewers, in the Wild Card round.
After that, they sent the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies home in the Division and League Championship Series, respectively.
It’s like, from one year to another, their mentality changed.
They started thinking and acting like a winning team, and doing the right things to achieve their goals.
According to manager Torey Lovullo, one man is responsible for that mentality switch: bench coach Jeff Banister.
“Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo on bench coach Jeff Bannister, the former Rangers manager: ‘He’s probably the best thing that ever happens to me. He changed the culture here,’” MLB insider Bob Nightengale tweeted.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo on bench coach Jeff Bannister, the former Rangers manager:
‘He’s probably the best thing that ever happens to me. He changed the culture here.’
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 26, 2023
Banister had a brief MLB career as a player, but has worked as a coach and even managed the Diamondbacks’ foe in the upcoming Fall Classic: the Texas Rangers.
He was in front of the Rangers from 2015 to 2018.
He was the AL Manager of the Year in 2015 and made the playoffs twice with the Rangers, in 2015 and 2016.
He was hired to be the D-Backs’ bench coach in late 2021, after their ugly 110-loss campaign.
They have done nothing but improve since that moment, and it can all culminate in an unlikely, yet extremely exciting World Series win.
The post Diamondbacks Manager Reveals Who Helped Change The Culture appeared first on The Cold Wire.