Arizona Diamondbacks: Comparing the 2011 Squad to the 2001 World Series Winners

It has been 10 years since the Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series in one of the most dramatic Series conclusions in history.

The 2011 team returns to the postseason for the third time since the 2001 championship season.  

While the 2001 squad was led by a group of veterans—catcher Damian Miller was the youngest starter at 32 years old during the World Series—the 2011 team's only player in his 30's is third baseman Ryan Roberts.

Here we compare the 2011 team to the 2001 team position by position.

Catcher: Miguel Montero vs. Damian Miller

2011 Diamondbacks: Miguel Montero was named to his first All-Star team in the 2011 season, rising back to the level of play he had demonstrated in 2009, before his disappointing 2010 season.  Montero hit .282 with 18 homeruns this season, and was second in the league in runners caught stealing.  Montero has been a steady backstop to the D-Backs young pitching squad.

2001 Diamondbacks: Damian Miller hit .271 in the 2001 season, slightly above his career average, with 13 homeruns. Miller led the league in putouts with 966 due to the high number of strikeouts thrown by Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, and caught 36 percent stealing. 

Advantage: 2011 Diamondbacks

First Base: Paul Goldschmidt vs. Mark Grace

2011 Diamondbacks: After a hot year in the minors, Paul Goldschmidt was called up to the majors in August, and since then has shown nice power and a developing eye, though his average needs improvement. He has hit eight homeruns in 156 at bats, but his average has been limited to .250.  Goldschmidt has a ton of potential, but is still very much a work in progress.

2001 Diamondbacks: Mark Grace was one of the several veteran stars that made up the 2001 roster. Grace was a lifetime .303 hitter who appeared on three All-Star teams and won four Gold Gloves. Grace also had the distinction of collecting more hits than any other player in the 1990's.  Grace's skills had begun their decline prior to him signing with the Diamondbacks in late 2000, but he had a final strong year in 2001, batting .298 with 15 homeruns. Grace was also notoriously difficult to strikeout, and in 2001 was the fifth most difficult National Leaguer for pitchers to get out on strikes.  

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks 

Second Base: Aaron Hill vs. Jay Bell

2011 Diamondbacks: Aaron Hill has been the everyday starting second baseman since arriving from Toronto in late August. He had been struggling in 2011 prior to the trade, but since arriving in Arizona has batted .315.  Hill's power has been in short supply this season; he hit only 8 homeruns, down from 36 and 26 in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In his career, Hill has hit .267 and 98 homeruns in seven seasons.  

2001 Diamondbacks: Jay Bell was a widely respected shortstop for the majority of his career, before spending more time at second base after arriving in Arizona. Bell batted for a career .265, and showed a decent amount of power, collecting 195 career homeruns. In the 2001 season, Bell's final full season, he hit only .248 and 13 homeruns, and was solid but unspectacular in the field.  Still, he was a strong presence on the D-Backs team, and brought four years of postseason experience to the club.

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks

Shortstop: John McDonald vs. Tony Womack

2011 Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks traded for John McDonald in August, and McDonald has become the everyday starter in place of the injured Stephen Drew. McDonald has struggled at the plate since his arrival, hitting .169 in 59 at bats, down from his .250 average earlier in the season while playing for Toronto. McDonald is a career .238 hitter, but earns his paycheck with his defense. He has committed only a single error in the field this season, and has totaled 56 errors in 1886 career chances.

2001 Diamondbacks: In the first few years of his career, Tony Womack had been a menace on the basepaths, and led the league in stolen bases three times. By 2001 his speed numbers were down, and he only swiped 28 bases, but batted a respectable .266. Womack, never known to have an exceptional glove, had one of his worst defensive seasons in 2001, committing the fifth most errors of any National League shortstop in 2011. Womack committed 71 career errors at shortstop in 1,268 chances.

Advantage: 2011 Diamondbacks

Third Base: Ryan Roberts vs. Matt Williams

2011 Diamondbacks: Ryan Roberts has bounced around the minor leagues since being drafted by the Blue Jays in 2003, and got his first opportunity to play regularly in the 2009 season, appearing in 110 games. This season was Roberts first complete season as an every day player, and Roberts turned in a solid season, batting .249 with 19 homeruns.   

2001 Diamondbacks: Matt Williams was one of the premiere infielders of the 1990's, and was named to the All-Star team five times while collecting four Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards. Williams hit 378 homeruns in his career and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times.  Williams was on the downside of his career by the time of the 2001 season, but he was a strong contributor to the D-Backs, batting .275 with 16 homeruns in the 2001 season.   

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks

Left Field: Gerardo Parra vs. Luis Gonzalez

2011 Diamondbacks: Gerardo Parra has not displayed much power thus far in his career, but he has demonstrated an ability to get on base. He has hit .282 in his three year Major League career, batting .292 this season. He has also played outstanding defense in left field, sharing the lead for outfielder assists this season.  

2001 Diamondbacks: Heading into the 2001 season, Luis Gonzalez had been a consistent hitter, topping 20 homeruns three times and earning an All-Star nod. During the 2001 season, his offensive production exploded, and Gonzalez had one of the best seasons of the decade. He hit .325 with 57 homeruns and and 142 RBIs, and likely would have been named MVP if not for 60+ homerun seasons by Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. Gonzalez's homerun total would never again reach even half of his output in 2001, but for one season he was one of the most dominant players in baseball.

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks 

Center Field: Chris Young vs. Steve Finley

2011 Diamondbacks: Chris Young has struggled to get on base this season, batting only .236, though his power has helped make up for his on-base percentage. Young has been a vacuum in centerfield, committing only three errors for a .993 fielding percentage.  

2001 Diamondbacks: Steve Finley was a solid and consistent producer in his 19 season career, hitting 304 homeruns and collecting five Gold Gloves. Finley's 2001 campaign was not one of his best, hitting 14 homeruns, down from 35 the previous season. He hit .275 with a .994 fielding percentage, fourth best for league centerfielders. Despite not producing spectacular numbers, Finley was a strong presence in centerfield and provided three seasons of postseason experience.

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks 

Right Field: Justin Upton vs. Reggie Sanders

2011 Diamondbacks: The youngest player in the D-Backs starting lineup, Justin Upton has been the star hitter for the 2011 team, batting .289 with 31 homeruns while swiping 21 bases. Upton is one of the best young players in the game, and the Diamondbacks playoff hopes will rest in a large part on his young shoulders.

2001 Diamondbacks: Reggie Sanders was a big contributor to the eight teams he played for in his Major League career, and retired with impressive accomplishments: 305 homeruns, 1,666 hits, an All-Star appearance and the fifth ever member of the 300-300 club. In the 2001 season, Sanders hit a career high 33 homeruns while hitting .263 and stealing 14 bases.  Sanders made important contributions to the 2001 team, but was not the dominant force that Upton has been.

Advantage: 2011 Diamondbacks  

Starting Pitchers: Ian Kennedy Et. Al. vs. Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling Et. Al.

2011 Diamondbacks: Ian Kennedy came out of nowhere to win 21 games in 2011, 12 more than his previous career high. His ERA was a stingy 2.88, and he is a top Cy Young candidate and the centerpiece of the Diamondbacks pitching. Only 24 years old, Daniel Hudson also turned in a strong season, going 16-12 with 169 strikeouts.  Joe Saunders and Josh Collmenter started the majority of the remaining games, and combined for a 22-23 record and 208 strikeouts.  

2001 Diamondbacks: The 2001 Diamondbacks featured one of the best 1-2 combinations in a pitching staff in recent memory.  Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, both likely future Hall of Famers, each won over 20 games. Johnson struck out an astounding 372 batters, and won the Cy Young Award in a landslide vote. Schilling did not lag far behind, finishing second in Cy Young voting and winning 22 games. The rest of the staff—Brian Anderson, Robert Ellis, and Albie Lopez—were unremarkable, but the dominance by Schilling and Johnson made the Diamondbacks unbeatable in a playoff series.

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks

Bullpen: J.J. Putz Et. Al. vs. Byung-Hyun Kim Et. Al.

2011 Diamondbacks: J.J. Putz racked up 45 saves with a 2.17 ERA in 2011, his best season since 2007, when he won the Rolaids Relief Award. Putz hasn't been perfect, however, blowing four saves. Fellow bullpenners David Hernandez and Micah Owings combined for a 13-3 record and 121 strikeouts, allowing 51 earned runs in 132.1 innings.  

2001 Diamondbacks: Byung-Hyun Kim notoriously struggled during the 2001 postseason, but was better during the regular season, throwing for 19 saves and a 2.94 ERA. Erik Sabel, Greg Swindell, Troy Brohawn and Bret Prinz filled up the majority of the remaining relief innings, going 11-12.

Advantage: 2011 Diamondbacks 

Bench: Sean Burroughs Et. Al. vs. Craig Counsell Et. Al.

2011 Diamondbacks: With the exception of third baseman Sean Burroughs, the Diamondbacks bench is rather thin. Henry Blanco, the team's senior statesman, is a solid option for Gibson from the bench.  He has hit well this season, batting .250 and hitting eight homeruns in just 100 at bats.  Burroughs has been the one pinch hitting in critical situations, and he has come through at a good rate, batting .273.  Still, the bench is thin, allowing the Diamondbacks little leeway in substitutions.

2001 Diamondbacks: Utility infielder Craig Counsell was a critical contributor to the 2001 team. He hit .275 and committed eight errors in 517 chances. David Dellucci provided similar contact hitting and a bit of power, with a .276 average and 10 homeruns.  Danny Bautista hit an outstanding .302, and Erubiel Durazo smacked 12 homeruns in only 175 at bats. The 2001 team's bench was full of young players capable of filling in for the older starters on their much needed off days.

Advantage: 2001 Diamondbacks 

Manager: Kirk Gibson vs. Bob Brenly

2011 Diamondbacks: In his first full season as manager, Kirk Gibson led the Diamondbacks to the National League West title, improving the team's win count by 29 games over the previous season. Gibson is likely to win the Manager of the Year Award, with his main competition coming from Milwaukee's Ron Roenicke. Though Gibson lacks postseason managerial experience, he appeared in three postseasons as a player, and was a leader on the World Series champion 1984 Tigers and 1988 Dodgers. Before taking the manager position, Gibson had served as bench coach for both the Detroit Tigers and the Diamondbacks, as well as hitting coach for the Tigers.

2001 Diamondbacks: Coincidentally, Bob Brenly was also in his first year as manager when he led the Diamondbacks to the 2001 World Series. Brenly had far less postseason success as a player than Kirk Gibson, catching for the Giants in their 1987 playoff run. Brenly also had coaching experience for the San Francisco Giants under Roger Craig and Dusty Baker.

Advantage: 2011 Diamondbacks 

Final Tally

In the 12 positional categories analyzed, the 2001 squad outscores the 2011 squad 7-5.  

Though the score looks close on paper, the large margins of victory in pitching—both starting and bullpen—and at left field, first base, third base and on the bench make this one a bit of a blowout.

The 2011 Diamondbacks are a team of young overachievers, and with the determined management of Kirk Gibson and superstar play of Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy, they stand a chance to repeat the glory of their 2001 counterparts.  However, the number of outstanding players on the 2001 D-Backs gave them a great competitive edge that will be hard to live up to.