The 2002

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

season was the franchise's 5th season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

and their 5th season at

Bank One Ballpark Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable-roof stadium in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion t ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, as members of the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created for the 1969 season when the National League (baseball), National League (NL) expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montr ...

. The Diamondbacks entered the 2002 season as the defending World Series champions. They looked to contend in what was once again a strong

. They finished the season with a record of 98–64, good enough for the division title. However, they were unable to defend their World Series title as they were swept in the NLDS by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in three games. Randy Johnson would finish the season as the NL Cy Young Award winner for the fourth consecutive year and become the second pitcher in history to win five Cy Young Awards after

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and also played ...

Offseason

* October 29, 2001: Ken Huckaby was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. * January 9, 2002: Quinton McCracken was signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks. * March 24, 2002: Ernie Young was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks by the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a conditional deal.

Regular season

Luis Gonzalez

During the 2002 season, Luis Gonzalez received publicity as a piece of gum chewed by Gonzalez during a spring training game was sold for $10,000 on April 15, 2002. The buyer was Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine Inc., manufacturer of the gum, Quench.

Opening Day starters

* Danny Bautista * Craig Counsell * Steve Finley * Luis Gonzalez *

Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 13 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of t ...

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed, "the Big Unit," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...

* Damian Miller * Junior Spivey * Tony Womack

Season standings

National League West

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Transactions

* June 3, 2002: Ernie Young was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. * September 4, 2002: Félix José was purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Mexico City Reds (Mexican).

Player stats

Batting

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average''

Other batters

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average''

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

=Relief pitchers

= ''Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

NLDS

St. Louis wins the series, 3–0

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

External links

2002 Arizona Diamondbacks at Baseball Reference

2002 Arizona Diamondbacks team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 Arizona Diamondbacks Season Arizona Diamondbacks Season, 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks seasons National League West champion seasons Arizonia