The Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 Major League Baseball Season couldn’t be any worse than their 2010 season, could it?
The 2010 MLB Season marked the second consecutive year the Arizona Diamondbacks finished with a losing record (65-97) and in last place in the National League (NL) West.
The team’s slow start resulted in manager AJ Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes losing their jobs midway through the season on July 1st.
Hinch was replaced by the legendary Kirk Gibson while Jerry Dipoto filled in for Byrnes on an interim basis before Kevin Towers was hired in the offseason.
To make matters worse, the 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks set the all-time MLB Team Record for strikeouts by a hitters with 1,529 with Adam LaRoche (172) and Mark Reynolds (211) both leading the charge.
LaRoche was not resigned and Reynolds was traded to the Baltimore Orioles during the offseason. The Diamondbacks also made various moves for the 2011 MLB Season to improve their bullpen’s league worst 5.47 ERA, including the signing of veteran closer JJ Putz.
After trading tenured veterans and fan favorites, Chad Qualls, Dan Haren and Reynolds, along with hiring Gibson and Towers, the 2011 MLB Season is certainly a new beginning for the Arizona Diamondbacks.