MLB 9s: Arizona Diamondbacks—Luis Gonzalez On Top For Young Franchise

One question, hundreds of answers. Which Diamondback had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Major League baseball has been asking fans this same question in an effort to choose each team's best ever collection of stars. They are calling it MLB 9s.

Here I have separated the contenders from the pretenders in an effort to pick my dream D'backs lineup. Have your say by commenting below or by voting on the MLB site here.

Catcher: Miguel Montero (2009)

I guess there's no time like the present, right? The D'backs have primarily used seven different backstops in their brief 12-year history, but none have combined the power and batting average of Montero.

While 16 dingers isn't that impressive, his .294 batting average gives him the best offensive year of any Arizona catcher. Montero drove in 59 runs and crossed the plate 61 times himself, while drawing 38 walks.

Highlight Game: September 29, 2009 @ San Francisco. Montero hit a pair of home runs in a 2-for-4 game in the penultimate series of the season, giving him his 57th, 58th and 59th runs batted in on the year.

Competition: Johnny Estrada’s 2006 campaign provides the closest competition, and although Estrada had the edge in batting average and RBI, Montero had more home runs and runs.

First base: Tony Clark (2005)

33-year-old Clark rediscover his power stroke from the late 90s in 2005, hammering 30 home runs out of newly-renamed Chase Field in a flashback to his time in Detroit. Clark had 106 hits in 130 games, batting .304 with 87 batted in.

The first baseman hit a home run every 11.6 at bats, which was good enough for a spot in the NL top 10, ranking him alongside sluggers such as Andruw Jones and Derrek Lee.

Highlight Game: September 16, 2005 vs Colorado. Clark went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, and a walk. He drove home four runs in his side's 6-5 loss, one of four multi-homer games of his 2005 campaign.

Competition: Power is the trump card in this battle. You could argue Chad Tracy was more valuable, but Clark put up similar figures in 150 fewer at bats.

Second Base: Jay Bell (1999)

Jay Bell had a career year with Arizona during his second season at the club. He exploded for 38 home runs—17 more than his previous career best—112 RBI, and a .289 batting average.

Bell, who was rewarded with his second trip to the All Star Game, scored the second-most runs in the National League with 132 (still a franchise record), had 76 extra base hits (ranked seventh) and nine sacrifice flies (third).

Highlight Game : April 25, 1999 @ San Diego. Bell hit a two-out 11th inning home run off Dan Miceli to give Buck Showalter's D'Backs a dramatic come-from-behind victory. It was Bell's second home run of the game, as he finished 3-for-6 with three RBI and four runs.

Competition: There is no competition at all here. Bell beats out the likes of Orlando Hudson and Junior Spivey easily. Even if you add the number of home runs from the other two players in their best season (Hudson’s 15 in 2006 and Spivey’s 16 in 2002), Bell would still come out in tops in the power stakes.

Third Base: Matt Williams (1999)

If it wasn't for Chipper Jones, Matt Williams might have won the MVP in 1999. He drove in 142 runs and batted .303 while still hitting 35 jacks into the warm desert air. In what was just the D'backs' second year as a franchise, Williams helped Arizona to 100 wins and their first trip to the playoffs.

His 336 total bases was also a career high, although he did have a franchise-record 627 at bats. Sadly for Williams fans, he was never quite the same in his final four years at the club.

Highlight Game: April 23, 1999. Batting in his usual clean-up role, Williams doubled and homered as part of a 3-for-4, five-RBI night.

Competition: Third base was a tougher decision. Troy Glaus had pop in his bat and Mark Reynolds has power and speed but no plate discipline and a below-par average. Williams edges this battle over Reynolds.

Shortstop: Stephen Drew (2008)

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