Arizona Diamondbacks Playoff Tickets

Arizona Diamondbacks Postseason History

The Arizona Diamondbacks have only been around since 1998, but have been no stranger to the highs that come with elite postseason performances. They have, on multiple occasions, been at or near the top of the sport in October, with clutch hitting and brilliant pitching playing key roles during the D-Backs' time contending for titles.

Arizona reached the top of the mountain in 2001, when they defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series. The series went seven games, and was filled with twists and turns as both teams seized the momentum from one another time and time again en route to one of the better World Series that has ever been played. As a result, the Yankees have become one of the biggest postseason rivals of the Diamondbacks.

Game seven of that World Series saw the Diamondbacks trailing the Yankees in the ninth inning. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was on the mound, arguably the best closer in the history of the game in his prime trying to shut the Diamondbacks down. But the D-Backs mounted a furious comeback, and forced the Yankees to play the infield in with the bases loaded in a tie game, with Luis Gonzalez stepping to the plate. Gonzalez blooped a single into shallow left-center field, and celebrated as he and the Diamondbacks made history against all odds in the bottom of the ninth.

That championship had a lot to do with Arizona’s starting pitching, with starters Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling taking home co-World Series MVP honors. The two followed one another in the starting rotation, which made sure that even if the team dropped one game, it would be unlikely that they would lose two in a row and risk falling out of contention in the series.

Offensively, the Diamondbacks had plenty of firepower of their own to make sure those starters had a lead to work with on multiple occasions. They were led by Gonzalez, who had five runs batted in during the World Series against the Yankees, including the series winning RBI single against Rivera. Players like Mark Grace, Craig Counsell, and Miguel Bautista also helped lead the way for the Diamondbacks.

Since then, Arizona has seen plenty of postseason action against their division rivals, with series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies amplified in intensity thanks to their frequent regular season matchups against one another.