This season, the Diamondbacks surprised everyone by making it to the World Series. The most optimistic (including me) saw them securing a place in the playoffs, but for a young team, making it to the grand final was a goal that seemed unattainable.
At least it seemed that way until they beat the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies back-to-back to become NL champions.
And when we analyze the successes of DBacks this year, it’s impossible to ignore the impact of their best player, Corbin Carroll. The Rookie of the Year, who also finished fifth rank in the race for MVPmade many eyes widen this year.
He was one of my favorite prospects before he arrived in the Majors, but to have such an impact this quickly in his career is impressive.
His speed is one of his main assets, having stolen 54 bases this season. A most impressive harvest… but in Carroll’s eyes, there’s even more in the tank.
He is convinced that he can steal more in a season, practically speaking.
In fact, Carroll explains that for two weeks (almost certainly at the beginning of May), he who did not attempt to steal a single base between the 3rd and the 19th of the month in what was his longest drought of the month ‘year), his knee was in very poor condition. He continued to play anyway, but Torey Lovullo (his manager) gave him the red light on the goals.
The Foul Territory hosts teased him a bit by “blaming” Lovullo, but Carroll says he’s grateful his manager protected him from himself. Without going into detail, he notes that his knee “didn’t look good.”
It’s good to see that Lovullo decided to take care of his protégé, and in the end, it paid off. Carroll got better after that and started racking up steals again, trailing only Ronald Acuña Jr. (73) and Esteury Ruiz (67) for stolen bases this season in the MLB .
And, above all, he was a central element of his team’s playoff run. That’s worth a lot more than a few more stolen bases.
We will therefore see how many thefts Carroll will be able to accumulate next year, but clearly, he has ideas of grandeur, and his speed suggests that he is right to dream big.
And with the rest of the Diamondbacks’ young core, he can also dream big in terms of a World Series run.
