2022 Diamondbacks Game of the Year: The Ballot

Nov 30, 2022 - 10:00 PM

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Here are the five most rec’d candidates from the discussion thread. I note that these are very much weighted towards the second half of the season, four of the five coming in late August and September. I also note that Spencer ended up recapping three of the five: what are the odds against that? Anyway, below you’ll find the justification put forward by those who nominated the game for their choice. There’s also the video recap of the game in question, and the link after the date goes to the SnakePit recap. So, usually Spencer’s. :)

May 4: Game 26, Diamondbacks 8 @ Miami 7 SWEEP

Nominated by Spencer O’Gara: “Madbum got ejected by Bellino for no reason but we won anyway. Full team win. This was my review. And it was Star Wars day. Despite all that, this Win is going to stick with me for a long time. It was the first game where I really believed this team was better than “experts” said. That belief stuck throughout the rest of the season.”

August 26: Turambar’s Take: ChiSox 2, D-backs 7

Nominated by Diamondhacks. “Not just because it was Elvis night. Tommy Henry got the win over Johnny Cueto, in a one-sided affair, thanks largely to three web gems between Alek Thomas and Varsho. Suffocating La Russa’s boppers with waves of youthful range and enthusiasm just felt to me like a changing of the guard.”

August 29: Diamondbacks 13, Phillies 7: Corbin dallies, multi-passes lead to victory

Nominated by ChuckJohnson56. “Down 7-0 entering the bottom of the fourth. MadBum got rocked, got 5.2 scoreless from the bullpen. Sent 11 to the plate in the fourth and scored six, sent 12 to the plate in the fifth and scored six. Went from 7-0 down to 12-7 up in an inning and a half. Carson Kelly had a three run double after an error by Jean Segura that would have ended the fourth inning. Corbin Carroll had a two run double in the fifth and Stone Garrett drove in two with a sac fly and solo homer. Frias, Caleb Smith and Moranta were the bullpen guys.” [Jim: I am also inexplicably proud of my recap headline!]

September 14: Game #142: Dodgers 3 at Diamondbacks 5 (10)

Nominated by Jack Sommers. “Very well pitched game before Moronta in the 10th and it was pretty cool to see Sergio have that moment. It was a pretty emotional post game presser for him, so it stood out to me for that reason. “

September 28: Game #156: Diamondbacks 5 @ Astros 2 (10)

Nominated by Michael McDermott. “Dbacks extra inning win at Minute Maid. Started as a pitcher’s duel between Gallen and Verlander, both guys dueled to a stalemate. Had some great defensive plays by McCarthy and Varsho to save the game, McCarthy’s catch literally taking away a Bregman walkoff. Then the D-backs pulled ahead in the 10th, thanks to a big hit from Christian Walker and won 5-2.”

Since this is not a personal award, it seems much less vulnerable to ballot-stuffing, so I’m going to relax the usual requirement for SnakePit users only, and open voting here to anyone who wants to cast their choice!