Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2022 revision of our top 50 Arizona Diamondbacks.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

The Diamondbacks did not make the 2021 Playoffs, but there are two new entries in the top 50, and minimal movement among other players, though nothing impacting the top five.

As always, we present our top five.

1. Randy Johnson

2. Paul Goldschmidt

3. Brandon Webb

4. Curt Schilling

5. Luis Gonzalez

You can find the entire list here.

Outfielder, David Peralta, moved up two spots to #14.

Two-time Gold Glove Shortstop, Nick Ahmed, edged up one rank to #18.

Infielder, Eduardo Escobar had the biggest elevation, moving from #43 to #37.

Two Starting Pitchers enter the top 50 with Zac Gallen (#45) and Merrill Kelly (#49) respectively.

Andy Benes and Erubiel Durazo fell off the list.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Merrill Kelly was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010, but after four years in the minors, he never made the big leagues and was released after the 2014 Season.  Kelly persevered, and went to Korea where he played for SK Wyverns for four seasons, winning a league title in 2018.  After that, he gave the Majors another try, and he signed with the Diamondbacks, making the team out of Spring Training.

Kelly became a competent starter, throwing 183.1 Innings with a 4.42 ERA.  He only had five Starts in 2020, though had an ERA of 2.59.  Although his stats went back to his rookie year in 2022, he rebounded strong in 2023, with a 13-8 record and a 3.37 ERA and 177 Strikeouts.  Going into 2023, he is one half a nice pairing with Zac Gallen, giving Arizona two arms to build on.  They did not do that in 2023, but the bats came alive leading Arizona to the World Series.  For his efforts, Kelly went 12-9 with a 3.29 ERA and 187 Strikeouts.  Kelly also had a good post-season, winning 3 Games against 1 Loss with a 2.25 ERA, sub 1.000 WHIP and 28 Ks.

The question here is how much does the late bllomer have in him?

The United States is a country that houses some of the biggest sports fan bases in the entire world. Americans are huge fans of sports, with over half of all Americans proclaiming to be passionate supporters of at least one sports team. The United States, in the over 200 years of its existence, has produced some of the most popular sports in the world, but what are the most popular sports in the country? 

American football

American football is one of the biggest sports in the country, and the National Football League is, by far, the biggest sports organization, being worth over 15 billion U.S. dollars. While Association football dominates the world of sports globally, in the United States, the undisputed king is American football. The sport is followed by over 40% of Americans, and college football is the most popular college sport, even exceeding the popularity of certain professional sports in the country.

American football is also the biggest betting sport in the United States, with betting shops and online betting sites reporting that their American user base is far more active during football season than any other sport’s season. If you are interested, have a look at the best sportsbooks, before you start out gambling.

Baseball

Often referred to as “America’s favorite pastime”, baseball is recognized as an American tradition, and one of the first sports created in the United States. It is not nearly as popular as American football and basketball, however, it is still one of the most popular American sports, and the MLB is the second most valuable sports organization in the United States, with an estimated worth of over ten billion dollars. The popularity of baseball, as well as the fact that it is the first sport created in the United States, has earned it the moniker “Godfather of American Sports”.

Basketball

Behind American football, Basketball is the most popular sport in the United States, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world’s biggest professional basketball league. The NBA is also the third biggest sports organization in the United States, with a value exceeding eight billion dollars. 

The sport is played on the professional and college level all around the country, and is becoming more and more popular with every year. Some of the biggest NBA teams in the States include the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers, etc. 

Hockey

While not nearly as popular as it is among their northern neighbors, hockey (ice hockey specifically) is still massively popular in the United States, with the National Hockey League being the fourth biggest sports organization in the United States of America. The NHL is comprised of 32 teams, twenty-five of which are American and the remaining seven Canadian. 

The United States is one of the “big six” on the international hockey stage, among Canada, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. These so-called “Big Six” are the six countries that dominate the international hockey scene.

Zac Gallen came up through the St. Louis Cardinals system, but was traded to the Miami Marlins while he was still in the Minors.  He would debut for Miami in June of 2019, but he was only a Marlin for seven Games before he was traded to the Diamondback at the Trading Deadline.  Gallen finished the year 2-3 with a .289 ERA, and was cemented in the rotation going forward.

In the COVID-19-shortened 2020, Gallen was one of the top hurlers in the NL, going 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.111 WHIP.  He was ninth in Cy Young voting, and a bright spot for a struggling Diamondbacks team.  Gallen struggled last year (4-10, 4.30 ERA), but had the skills to bounce back, and boy, did he!

Arizona was not very good in 2022, but Gallen was phenemonal, finishing fifth in Cy Young Voting, while leading the NL in WHIP (0.913) and H/9 (5.9) with 192 Strikeouts and a 12-9 record.  Gallen was even better last year, and so were the Diamondbacks, who shocked the world by not only making the playoffs, but winning the National League Pennant.  This does not happen without their ace, who went 17-9 and fanned 220 Strikeouts, which was good enough for third.  Gallen also had other firsts in 2023, goig to the All-Star Game, was third in Cy Young voting and secured a First Team All-MLB slot.

The scary thing for opposing batters is that Gallen's best is ahead of him.