Tracking down the 2001 World Series champion Diamondbacks

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This is the next in a series of stories from Cronkite News looking back at the Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Series win.

PHOENIX – What do a German sausage maker, a wildlife photographer and a Morgan Stanley financial analyst have in common? They all played for the 2001 World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

As Cronkite News continues its extensive series on the only major men’s pro title in the state’s history, one question still needs to be answered: Where are the 2001 Diamondbacks now?

Here are the answers, in alphabetical order.

World Series stats: 3.38 ERA, 6.80 FIP, 1 K, 5.1 IP

Season stats: 5.20 ERA, 5.36 FIP, 55 Ks, 133.1 IP

Brian Anderson: starting/relief pitcher

Career stats: 4.74 ERA, 5.06 FIP, 723 Ks, 1,547 IP

Where is he now: In-game analyst for Rays TV

Brian Anderson persevered through a rough season in which he posted an ERA over 5.00 for the first time in six seasons and was bumped from the starting rotation. He rejoined the rotation on baseball’s brightest stage and finished the year as one of the Diamondbacks’ key arms.

Anderson, the Diamondbacks’ first pick in the 1997 expansion draft (No. 2 overall) was one of just four Diamondbacks pitchers to reach 100 innings, joining Cy Young winner Randy Johnson, Cy Young runner-up Curt Schilling and Miguel Batista. He joined those three as the only starters to whom manager Bob Brenly gave the ball in the World Series.

Anderson only lasted one more season in Arizona after winning it all, rejoining the Indians for half a year before a two-and-a-half-year stretch with the Kansas City Royals capped off his MLB playing days.

The culprit for the quick end was his UCL, and the saga that followed. The third tear of the ligament ended Anderson’s career, but sparked new ones.

He became the team’s assistant pitching coach. He also slid into the commentary booth as an analyst for six games in 2008 when regular analyst Joe Magrane was away covering Olympic baseball for NBC. He occasionally worked Indians games in 2007 as he rehabbed from Tommy John, but this time was different.

“Those first two games, I was trying to be like (play-by-play announcer) Dewayne (Staats), who is an old-school, straight-forward type of announcer,” Anderson told the St. Petersburg Times. “I decided that I had to just be me. I figured this wasn’t even my job, so I might as well have fun and let it all hang out.”

Anderson’s workload increased to 40 games in 2009 – his final year as assistant pitching coach – and 50 in 2010 before becoming the full-time analyst in 2011. All these years later, Anderson is still in the booth, even having won a Suncoast Sports Emmy Award along the way.

Miguel Batista: starting/relief pitcher

World Series stats: 0.00 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 6 Ks, 8 IP

Season stats: 3.36 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 90 Ks, 139.1 IP

Career stats: 4.48 ERA, 4.60 FIP, 1,250 Ks, 1,956.1 IP

Where is he now: Unknown, but he has at least one law degree

Before becoming an Arizona Diamondback before the 2001 season, Miguel Batista was struggling to find success in the big leagues. In his first 384.2 innings pitched, Batista had a 5.24 ERA.

With the Diamondbacks, something clicked and he excelled despite bouncing back and forth between starting and relieving. What’s interesting about Batista’s 2001 season is that he was just as productive in both roles. In 18 starts, Batista registered a 3.36 ERA, just one tick above his 3.35 ERA over 30 relief appearances.

Batista started Game 5 of the World Series and held the Yankees’ offense scoreless through 7.2 innings pitched, but the Diamondbacks lost that game in extra innings.

Batista stayed with the Diamondbacks for two more seasons and came back for a second stint in 2006, but also played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

Not much is known about Batista’s post-playing career, but ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reported that Batista graduated from school with a law degree in 2020, and Dominican baseball journalist Héctor Gómez reported in 2024 that Batista graduated with a master’s degree in criminal procedure law from Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Batista enjoyed a second career while still an MLB player. Enamored with writing from a young age, Batista published a Spanish poetry book titled “Sentimientos en Blanco y Negro” – earning him the nickname El Poeta in the Dominican Republic – and a novel that was translated into English in 2006 with the title “The Avenger of Blood.”

Batista spent five and a half years researching before writing “The Avenger of Blood,” which follows a 14-year-old boy living in Phoenix who gets accused of being a serial killer and is inhabited by an angel.

Speaking to Trafford Publishing, which published the English version of the story, Batista said he “took two of the most sensitive issues in our society, the law and religion” and “tried to create a scenario where facts and faith could face one another in the court of law to decide what could be the right thing to do when there is no written law on how to proceed when God took part in the crime.”

Danny Bautista: outfielder

World Series stats: .583/.615/.750, 0 HR, 7 RBIs, 0 SB

Season stats: .302/.346/.437, 5 HRs, 26 RBIs, 3 SB

Career stats: .272/.315/.409, 62 HRs, 319 RBIs, 27 SB

Where is he now: Seemingly retired with a son playing professionally

Danny Bautista only played in 100 regular-season games for the Diamondbacks in 2001, but was penciled into the starting lineup for Game 7 against the Yankees, going 1 for 3 with an RBI double that got his team on the board in the sixth inning.

Playing his role was something that Bautista did throughout the series, recording seven hits and driving in seven runs across the seven games.

Bautista spent three more years with the Diamondbacks after winning the World Series, his best being 2002, when he recorded a 117 OPS+ across 40 games. His 2004 season, where he posted an 85 OPS+, was his last in the big leagues, capping off a career spanning parts of 12 seasons with the Tigers, Braves, Marlins and Diamondbacks.

Bautista eventually moved back to his native Dominican Republic when his youngest son, Danny Bautista Jr., was a teenager, in part to advance his future career in baseball. His older son, Gerald Bautista, attended high school in the United States, but had signed as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic.

“Baseball is huge in the DR,” Bautista told White Cleat Beat in 2020. “There is a lot of competition. I wanted my son to live what I lived through when I was young, playing baseball in DR where I had to work hard every single day and not get too comfortable with anything.”

In 2022, when Bautista Jr. was still in affiliated ball, he was part of the process of unionizing minor league baseball and forming the first MiLB collective bargaining agreement, as someone whose unique upbringing allowed him to be a voice for Latin American players while having a well-developed understanding of the United States.

Bob Brenly: manager

Where is he now: Television analyst for Diamondbacks games

Bob Brenly was hired on Oct. 30, 2000, to lead the Diamondbacks for the 2001 season with no managerial experience. It’s safe to say that the move worked out pretty well.

Brenly had spent a lot of time in the radio booth, calling Chicago Cubs games in 1990 and 1991, before jumping back to the dugout as a member of Roger Craig’s and later Dusty Baker’s Giants coaching staffs from 1992 to 1995.

The 1996 season saw Brenly move back into the booth, this time on the TV side with FOX, and he was a member of the Diamondbacks’ inaugural TV duo with Thom Brennaman in 1998. He stayed in the booth until becoming manager ahead of the 2001 season.

Following the World Series title, Brenly and the Diamondbacks won the NL West again in 2002, but the team lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS and failed to make the playoffs in 2003. Brenly was fired in 2004 after a 29-50 start to the season, and never managed again.

Instead, Brenly hopped right back into the commentary booth with the Cubs, taking over from Steve Stone as the television analyst for 2005 and staying until 2012, appearing on TBS’ baseball coverage as well during that time.

Brenly returned to the Diamondbacks’ booth, pairing up with Steve Berthiaume to form an all-new crew. Brenly is still a member of the booth to this day.

In 2021, Brenly went on a voluntary leave of absence to take sensitivity training after he made a comment on air about then-New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman that the right-hander, who is Black, said contained “racist undertones.”

Jay Bell: infielder

World Series stats: .143/.143/.143, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB

Season stats: .248/.349/.400, 13 HRs, 46 RBIs, 0 SB

Career stats: .265/.343/.416, 195 HRs, 860 RBIs, 91 SB

Where is he now: Managing the Karachi Monarchs of Baseball United

Across parts of 18 seasons in the show and seven postseason series, Jay Bell crossed home plate 1,137 times. No time was more important than in the bottom of the ninth inning on Nov. 4, 2001, when he scored off Luis Gonzalez’s bloop single in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, clinching the World Series for the Diamondbacks.

Bell might have come off the bench in the lead-up to that historic moment, but he had been a regular in the Diamondbacks lineup since 1998, when he signed with the fledgling franchise as a free agent.

Bell enjoyed a long playing career, with two All-Star nods and eight productive seasons in which he also won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in 1993.

He returned to the Diamondbacks as a member of manager Bob Melvin’s coaching staff in 2005 and 2006, serving as the bench coach.Bell left the Diamondbacks to return to the Pirates in 2013, serving as their bench coach before fulfilling the same role for the Cincinnati Reds in 2014 and 2015.

Bell got his first shot at managing in 2017, leading the Tampa Yankees, the New York Yankees High-A affiliate, and managed the organization’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, the Trenton Thunder and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2018 and 2019, respectively. On Jan. 7, 2020, Bell was named the manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Los Angeles Angels’ Double-A affiliate. He departed the organization following the 2021 season.

Bell was named the manager of the Karachi Monarchs of Baseball United for the 2025 season, a position he still holds.

Baseball United is a professional league located in the Middle East. All teams play their games in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but represent different regions and cities across the Middle East and South Asia. The Karachi Monarchs represent Karachi, Pakistan, despite never playing a Baseball United game in the city of nearly 19 million.

Bell has also served on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a nonprofit organization that helps former MLB and MiLB players through financial or medical struggles.

Craig Counsell: infielder

World Series stats: .083/.120/.208, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB

Season stats: .275/.359/.362, 4 HR, 38 RBIs, 6 SB

Career stats: .255/.342/.344, 42 HR, 390 RBIs, 103 SB

Where is he now: Managing the Chicago Cubs

Counsell’s World Series stats don’t pop off the page, but he’s one of the main reasons that the Diamondbacks made it to the biggest stage in the first place. The utility infielder played arguably the best stretch of his career during the 2001 NLCS as he helped the Diamondbacks sweep the Atlanta Braves, going 8 for 21 with four RBIs and winning series MVP.

Before that, he launched a three-run home run in Game 3 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Diamondbacks went on to win that game and take a 2-1 series lead.

Even in the Fall Classic, where Counsell only recorded two hits, he offered up what manager Bob Brenly believes to be one of the biggest moments of the series. He stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 with the Diamondbacks already trailing 1-0. He didn’t let the early deficit get to him, however, pulling a pitch from Mike Mussina in the air to right field and over the wall, tying the game and sparking a 9-1 victory.

“They were the Yankees,” Brenly told MLB.com. “They had won three titles in a row and they (came) in here, and in the first inning against a four-year-old organization, and immediately (got) on the board. It would have been very easy for guys to panic a little bit. But when Counsell hit that home run, it was like you could almost feel the dugout go, ‘OK, we can do this. We can play with these guys.’”

The eventual ring was the second of Counsell’s career, having previously won it all with the Miami Marlins in 1997. He spent two more seasons with the Diamondbacks before a one-year pit stop in Milwaukee with the Brewers, returning to Arizona for two more years afterward.

After his playing career, he worked in the Brewers’ front office as a special assistant to the GM and appeared on Brewers broadcasts before eventually being hired to manage the team in 2015.

Counsell left the Brewers after the completion of the 2023 season, shocking the baseball world by jumping ship to the Chicago Cubs, who offered him a five-year, $40 million contract, making him the highest-paid manager in league history at the time.

David Dellucci: outfielder

World Series stats: .500/.500/.500, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Season stats: .276/.349/.479, 10 HRs, 40 RBIs, 2 SB

Career stats: .356/.338/.435, 101 HRs, 398 RBIs, 41 SB

Where is he now: College baseball analyst for SEC Network/ESPN

David Dellucci only had two at-bats in the 2001 World Series, but he was an important piece on the bench, appearing in 115 games, only 40 of which he started. It was the most appearances Dellucci had in a season for the Diamondbacks, with the exception of their inaugural 1998 season, where he led the NL in triples (12) and played in 124 games after being drafted from the Orioles.

Dellucci’s time in the desert came to an end during the 2003 season, when he was traded to the New York Yankees alongside righty reliever Bret Prinz and minor leaguer Jon-Mark Sprowl for Raúl Mondesi. His playing days ended in 2009.

Dellucci has done a lot in his life after baseball, but has stayed close to the game. He currently works for the SEC Network and ESPN as a college baseball analyst, while also contributing to the curation of SEC baseball power rankings.

Working around SEC baseball is something of a homecoming for Dellucci, who was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the home of LSU, and spent his college years at Ole Miss, where he earned All-SEC honors in 1994 and 1995, in addition to national All-America recognition in the latter.

Dellucci has also been described as an “avid hunter and fisherman,” and has served as a member of the advisory board for the National Wildlife Federation’s Vanishing Paradise Campaign.

The former big-leaguer has also been involved in charitable work, earning a commendation from the Louisiana House of Representatives for his work in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He’s also put on free baseball clinics, done work for wounded soldiers and supported local law enforcement in Prairieville, Louisiana through his charitable works, as well as supported cancer research.

Dellucci is married to former “The Price is Right” model Rachel Reynolds.

Erubiel Durazo: first baseman

World Series stats: .364/.500/.455, 0 HR, 1RBI, 0 SB

Season stats: .269/.372/.537, 13 HRs, 38 RBIs, 0 SB

Career stats: .281/.381/.487, 94 HR, 330 RBIs, 7 SB

Where is he now: Diamondbacks front office

Erubiel Durazo was one of manager Bob Brenly’s key weapons coming off the bench in 2001.

Playing behind the dangerous Mark Grace, Durazo only started 34 games, but he still made his mark with a 124 OPS+ in 207 plate appearances across 92 total games.

Durazo’s production didn’t stop in the postseason, and his clutch gene became apparent.

In Game 5 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, with the Diamondbacks leading the series 3-1, but tied in the fifth inning 1-1, Durazo worked a 2-2 count before driving a pitch the opposite way down the left field line for a two-run home run that also scored Luis Gonzalez. In a flash, the Diamondbacks were leading 3-1, and eventually walked away victorious and World Series bound.

After 2001, Durazo spent one more season with the Diamondbacks before spending three with the Oakland Athletics, where he played on a much more regular basis, serving as the team’s primary designated hitter.

During his 2005 season, however, Durazo tore his UCL in his left elbow and required season-ending Tommy John surgery, which later proved to be career-ending.

In Durazo’s post-playing career, he returned to the Diamondbacks in 2016 as a special advisor to president and CEO Derrick Hall, with a focus on the team’s outreach efforts in Mexico.

It was a position created just for Durazo.

Durazo helped the Diamondbacks forge a relationship with his hometown team, the Hermosillo Naranjeros – Hermosillo is also a sister city of Phoenix – in an effort to bring Mexican talent to the MLB organization.

“As a young boy, I had a dream of playing baseball in the major leagues,” Durazo told MLB.com regarding the partnership. “I’m looking forward to trying to show the youth the steps they have to take – what life is like as a ballplayer, how you have to battle and how hard you have to work to be able to reach the big leagues.”

Durazo is still a member of the front office as a special advisor on Mexico to the president, CEO & general partner.

Former Diamondbacks player Steve Finley, left, coaches Melissa Mayeux at a baseball camp in Paderborn, Germany. He also works as a financial adviser. (Photo by Martin Meissner/Associated Press)

Steve Finley: center fielder

World Series stats: .368/.478/.526, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 0 SB

Season stats: .275/.337/.430, 14 HRs, 73 RBIs, 11 SB

Career stats: .271/.332/.442, 304 HRs, 1167 RBIs, 320 SB

Where is he now: Sports and entertainment associate and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley

Steve Finley joined the Diamondbacks before the 1999 season, signing a four-year, $21.5 million contract with the young franchise during the offseason. When he inked the deal, he was already a veteran entering his age-34 campaign with parts of 10 years in the show under his belt.

Ironically, Finley’s worst year with the D-backs came in 2001, but he was strong enough in the postseason, hitting over .400 in the division series against the St. Louis Cardinals and hitting .368 on the sport’s grandest stage.

Finley’s time in Arizona came to an end in 2004, when the struggling Diamondbacks, on their way to 111 losses, traded him, along with catcher Brent Mayne, to the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers for Reggie Abercrombie, Koyie Hill and Bill Murphy – none of whom panned out for the club.

Finley’s playing career ended in 2007 at 42 years old.

In the years since, the former center fielder has kept busy. He worked as a baseball instructor and appeared as an analyst on Padres pre- and postgame shows, but has spent the bulk of his time working at Morgan Stanley, an American financial services firm, where he works as a global sports and entertainment associate director and financial advisor, per his LinkedIn profile.

Finley spoke with Wealthmanagment.com in 2017, shedding light on his unusual path.

“2007 was my last year and I spent a couple of years doing nothing, just surfing and playing golf,” he said. “I had a friend who had his own company selling insurance and wanted to work with some athletes to encourage them to use insurance as a retirement vehicle and he asked me to come in and help him with some business development. For me it was kind of a way to give back and try to educate athletes on finances – at least as much as I could at that point.”

Mark Grace: first baseman

World Series stats: .263/.391/.474, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 0 SB

Season stats: .298/.386/.463, 15 HRs, 78 RBIs, 1 SB

Career stats: .303/.383/.442, 173 HRs, 1,146 RBIs, 70 SB

Where is he now: Seemingly retired after a second career as an analyst

Like many members of the 2001 Diamondbacks offense, Mark Grace was in the latter stages of his career. At 37 years old, Grace was the oldest member of the lineup.

Still, he was one of the most effective pieces. Among the regular starters, Grace was second only to Luis Gonzalez in batting average and doubles (31 to Gonzalez’s 36) and posted the third-highest OPS+ on the team (113), behind just right fielder Reggie Sanders (119) and Luis Gonzalez (177).

Grace parlayed that regular-season success into a remarkable World Series, where he came up clutch more than once, but no time greater than when he got the party started in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, leading off the iconic frame with a single into center field.

Five at-bats and 14 years in the show later, Grace finally had his ring.

Unfortunately for Grace, after 2001, his trademark contact skills started to deteriorate and he retired just before the end of the 2003 season, having hit just .200 across 66 games.

While the door to his playing days closed, the new one to his post-playing career opened quickly, as he jumped straight into the commentary booth.

Grace served as the color commentator for Diamondbacks games from 2004 to 2012, working primarily with Thom Brennaman and Daron Sutton. His career in the TV booth could have been cut short, as he was in the running to manage the team in 2005, following the D-backs’’ disastrous 111-loss 2004 season. Ultimately the team went with Bob Melvin, the team’s bench coach in 2001 and Seattle Mariners manager during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Grace was ultimately relieved of his duties before the end of the 2012 season, following his second DUI arrest in a 15-month period.

Grace returned to baseball, spending time on the staffs of the Arizona League D-Backs and the Hillsboro Hops, both Diamondbacks minor league affiliates, before serving as the Diamondbacks hitting coach during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Grace wasn’t brought back for 2017 and returned to the broadcast booth instead.

The former Cub finally reunited with the team in 2020, providing pregame, in-game and postgame analysis on Marquee Sports Network, which the Cubs own with Sinclair Broadcast Group. Grace simultaneously worked in his roles with the Cubs and Diamondbacks for a time, but is no longer part of either broadcast.

Luis Gonzalez: left fielder

World Series stats: .259/.333/.444, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB

Season stats: .325/.429/.668, 57 HR, 142 RBIs, 1 SB

Career stats: .283/.367/.479, 354 HR, 1,439 RBIs, 128 SB

Where is he now: Still heavily tied to the Diamondbacks and Arizona

Who else could it have been but Luis Gonzalez?

The sweet-swinging outfielder had been a member of the organization since December 1998, when it acquired him in an offseason trade with the Detroit Tigers. The move sent Karim García to the Motor City, where he proceeded to post just a 0.1 bWAR.

It’s safe to say that the Diamondbacks won the trade.

Gonzalez played in all 162 regular-season games in 2001, registering career-highs in bWAR (7.9), OPS (1.117), home runs (57) and RBIs (142). His performance earned him his lone Silver Slugger and a third-place finish in NL MVP voting behind Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.

By the time he stepped into the left-handed batter’s box to face Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the World Series, he had already established himself as a face of the franchise. The moment elevated him to Valley icon.

Gonzalez spent five more seasons with the Diamondbacks and one each with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Florida Marlins before retiring and returning to the team he spent his best years with as a special assistant to president and CEO, Derrick Hall, a role he still holds.

Outside of that gig, Gonzalez has done a little bit of almost everything.

He has appeared as an analyst on commentary, most recently on NBC. Gonzalez has pursued entrepreneurial avenues as well, founding IsTalking LLC in 2006 – while he was still playing – alongside Anthony Conti, who made a living in the jewelry business.

He has also ventured into politics, endorsing a number of Arizona Republican candidates over the years, including John McCain for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, and Kari Lake for governor in 2022.

In May 2023, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, the University of South Alabama, by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. Gonzalez still serves in that role.

Most of all, though, Gonzalez has made an impact as a member of the community and through his charitable works.

Gonzalez has made the Valley his home, appearing at numerous events throughout the Phoenix area, including the recent NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 8, where he served as the Honorary Pace Car Driver, and the WM Phoenix Open.

On the philanthropic side, Gonzo’s Hometown Heroes Fund, which is supported by the Diamondbacks and American Medical Response, is a nonprofit that funds “projects, programs and nonprofit organizations that support Police Officers, Firefighters, and First Responders across Arizona.” He has also raised thousands of dollars for kids’ charities through his Going Gonzo for Kids initiative with the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation.

Randy Johnson: starting pitcher

World Series stats: 1.04 ERA, 1.38 FIP, 19 Ks, 17.1 IP

Season stats: 2.49 ERA, 2.13 FIP, 372 Ks, 249.2 IP

Career stats: 3.29 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 4,875 Ks, 4,135.1 IP

Where is he now: Photographer and member of the Diamondbacks front office

When Randy Johnson arrived in the desert ahead of the 1999 season, having signed a four-year, $52 million contract, he had already made a name for himself, winning a Cy Young Award and making five All-Star appearances for the Seattle Mariners

Johnson began his Diamondbacks tenure by securing the 1999 NL Cy Young award. He followed it up by winning it again in 2000. In 2001, he made it a three-peat and in 2002, he made it a mind-boggling four in a row, becoming just the second pitcher in MLB history to accomplish such an achievement, joining Greg Maddux (1992-95).

In the middle of the run, Johnson was able to help lead the D-backs to the mountain top, securing the win in Game 2 of the 2001 World Series, and earning the win in Game 7 as well, after coming in out of the bullpen. For his efforts, he was named co-World Series MVP alongside his odd couple counterpart Curt Schilling.

Johnson stayed with the Diamondbacks until 2005, when he spent two years with the New York Yankees, whom he had beaten in the World Series just a few years prior. He eventually returned to the D-backs for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, before wrapping up his career with the San Francisco Giants in 2009, recording his 300th win that season and becoming the 24th and so far last pitcher in MLB history to achieve the feat.

Johnson studied photojournalism at USC during his collegiate career and now runs a photography Instagram called rj51photos – after his initials and jersey number – with 158,000 followers.

Johnson has taken photos of everything from the Super Bowl to African wildlife and culture, and even has a photo book on the latter.

“Photography has taken me on an amazing journey, but it’s only just beginning,” Johnson said. “I look forward to visiting places I’ve never been, shooting things I’ve never seen, and getting better each and every day.”

A fun easter egg for fans of the Big Unit is that his photography logo is a dead bird, an homage to the unfortunate bird that crossed paths with one of his fastballs during spring training in 2001.

Johnson also rejoined the Diamondbacks organization as a special assistant to president and CEO Derrick Hall in 2015. The role sees Johnson take part in community initiatives while advising the baseball operations and baseball business departments of the franchise and working with the organization’s pitchers. Johnson still serves in the same role.

Johnson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015 alongside Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. The Big Unit made it in on his first year of eligibility receiving votes on 97.3% of ballots. He is the only member of the Hall of Fame to wear a Diamondbacks hat on their plaque.

Byung-Hyun Kim: relief pitcher

World Series stats: 13.50 ERA, 12.05 FIP, 6 Ks, 3.1 IP, 0 SV

Season stats: 2.94 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 113 Ks, 98 IP, 19 SV

Career stats: 4.42 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 806 Ks, 841 IP, 86 SV

Where is he now: Entrepreneur, restaurant owner and entertainer

Byung-Hyun Kim’s World Series stats might not be pretty, but the right-handed reliever, who operated as the Diamondbacks primary closer in 2001, was a big part of the team’s success.

Kim didn’t just toss 98 innings out of the bullpen in 2001 – an already impressive achievement – he did it while being more effective than 59% of the MLB pitchers that season, posting an ERA+ of 159. And while the World Series was a bit of a struggle, he recorded three saves across four appearances and 6.1 innings pitched in the NLDS and NLCS, giving up zero runs and only three base runners.

Kim signed with the Diamondbacks out of his native South Korea at just 20 years old in 1999, as he was able to forgo the normally mandatory three years of military service in his home country by helping it win the 1998 Asian Games.

Despite his struggles at Yankee Stadium in the World Series, he continued to get better in 2002, making the NL All-Star team for the first and only time in his career, as he recorded a 2.04 ERA and 36 saves.

Kim only stayed in the desert for another half season, making seven more appearances, all as a starting pitcher, before the Diamondbacks sent him to the Boston Red Sox for Shea Hillenbrand.

For much of the rest of Kim’s big-league career, he bounced between the rotation and the bullpen, while donning the uniforms of the Red Sox, Rockies and Marlins, before he returned to the Diamondbacks to make two more starts in 2007. He last appeared in the Australian Baseball Leagues as a 39-year-old during the 2018-19 season.

During his playing days, Kim was an entrepreneur and restaurateur. He opened up his first restaurant, a sushi spot in San Diego, in 2004, and a variety of other restaurants over the years – including a steakhouse, a ramen spot, a Thai restaurant and a burger place – mostly in South Korea.

While many have closed, there’s one that’s gained recognition recently: a German restaurant called Metz Hannam, near downtown Seoul. Kim considers Schweinshaxe – German pork knuckle – to be one of his favorite foods, and it was one of the inspiring factors to create the restaurant.

“The first time I tried the Schweinshaxe – the crunchiness on the outside, the juiciness on the inside – it was otherworldly,” Kim told MLB.com.

It’s been the budae-jjigae – Korean army stew – in which the restaurant uses German sausages as an ingredient, as opposed to the more traditional ultra-processed meats, that’s received the most praise, including seven awards from the German Butchers’ Association.

Kim has also appeared in K-dramas and on reality television shows in his home country. He was credited in season one, episode 12 of “The Penthouse: War in Life,” where, naturally, he played the role of a pitcher.

Kim has also appeared on “Law of the Jungle,” which is similar to “Survivor”, but with an all-celebrity cast, and “The King of Mask Singer.”

Bob Melvin: bench coach

Where is he now: A special assistant in baseball operations with the Athletics

Just like when they were teammates with the Giants in the late 1980s, Bob Melvin was backing up Bob Brenly on the Diamondbacks coaching staff.

Melvin got his first bit of managerial and bench-coaching experience in 1999, leading the Maryvale Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League and acting as Phil Garner’s bench coach with the Brewers, then following the skipper to the Tigers in 2000 to serve in the same role.

In 2001, Melvin made the jump to the desert to reunite with Brenly.

The duo peaked that same season, winning the World Series, of course, but Melvin stuck around for 2002 before being hired by the Seattle Mariners to become the 11th manager in franchise history.

Melvin returned to Arizona to manage the Diamondbacks in 2005 after going 156-168 across two seasons in the Pacific Northwest, but didn’t have the same success he experienced as a bench coach, going 337-340, making the playoffs just once in 2007. He was fired after starting the 2009 season 12-17.

Melvin got his next chance at managing in 2011 with the Athletics, first in an interim role after Bob Geren was fired. Melvin ended up spending 11 years at the helm of the A’s, winning 853 games and making the playoffs six times. He never made it past the ALDS.

Melvin managed two seasons each for the Padres and Giants. Before the 2026 season, Melvin returned to the A’s, joining the front office as a special advisor, and helped out during spring training.

Damian Miller: catcher

World Series stats: .190/.261/.268, 0 HR, 2 RBIs, 0 SB

Season stats: .271/.337/.424, 13 HRs, 47 RBIs, 0 SB

Career stats: .262/.329/.411, 87 HRs, 406 RBIs, 5 SB

Where is he now: Seemingly retired, yet active in his community

Damian Miller had been with the Diamondbacks from the start, getting selected by the organization with the 47th overall pick in the 1997 expansion draft after a 25-game cup of coffee with the Minnesota Twins.

Miller’s role with the Diamondbacks started small, appearing in just 57 games in the 1998 season, but his playing time increased over the years, and by 2001, he was firmly situated as the team’s starting catcher.

His campaign that year wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but he came up big in the most significant opportunity of his career in the postseason. Miller laid down a bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series, advancing pinch-runner David Dellucci, who came in after Mark Grace’s leadoff single. The rest, as they say, is history.

Miller spent one more season in the desert after winning it all, being named to the NL All-Star team amid an 11-home run, .775 OPS campaign.

He retired in 2008.

In the years that followed, Miller and his family settled in West Salem, Wisconsin, the town where he attended high school, and not far from his hometown of La Crosse. Miller has been out to Brewers spring training since his retirement from the game, but has spent much of his post-playing career in his community as a youth sports coach.

As of 2022, the year in which he was inducted into the West Salem High School Alumni Hall of Fame, he had been coaching basketball for 10 years and baseball for five years at Coulee Christian School. He’s also spent time as an assistant at West Salem High School and with American Legion baseball teams. Miller has also spent time talking to the youth about his faith.

Reggie Sanders: right fielder

World Series stats: .304/.360/.348, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Season stats: .263/.337/.549, 33 HRs, 90 RBIs, 14 SB

Career stats: .267/.343/.487, 305 HRs, 1,614 RBIs, 304 SB

Where is he now: Kansas City Royals front office and leading charitable causes

The Diamondbacks took a chance on Reggie Sanders in 2001, signing him to a one-year deal after the outfielder posted a career worst 76 OPS+ in 2000 with the Atlanta Braves.

Luckily for both the Diamondbacks and Sanders, he bounced back with authority in the desert.

Sanders posted 3.3 bWAR, 33 home runs and a 117 OPS+, placing second among all Arizona bats and only behind Luis Gonzalez, who finished third in NL MVP voting that season.

At first, it seemed like his production carried over to the postseason. He recorded a 1.113 OPS in the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals, and his solo shot in Game 5 gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead, helping the team advance to the next round and beyond.

In the NLCS, however, he only hit .118, leading to manager Bob Brenly benching him in Game 7 of the World Series in favor of Danny Bautista, something that reportedly “miffed” Sanders.

Still, the 10-year veteran earned his ring.

Sanders didn’t return to the Diamondbacks in 2002 and retired in 2007.

Sanders always tried to give back to the community during his playing days, providing things like school supplies and tickets to games to kids in the cities that he played in. Once his playing days wrapped up, that continued, most visibly through his nonprofit Reggie Sanders Foundation.

RSF’s mission is to “provide a comprehensive network of support and inclusion for children and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders.” And aims to create events for children with autism, provide job opportunities, provide safe and affordable housing and works with Certified Quality Control Experts, who “oversee services provided to children and families with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

In addition to nonprofit work, Sanders is a member of the Royals front office, where he serves as the special assistant to baseball operations/leadership development.

On April 25, 2026, Sanders, Aaron Harang, Brandon Phillips and Lou Piniella were inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers Curt Schilling, left, Brandon Webb,and Randy Johnson talk before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018, in Phoenix. (Photo by Rick Scuteri/Associated Press)

Curt Schilling: starting pitcher

World Series stats: 1.69 ERA, 2.25 FIP, 26 Ks, 21.1 IP

Season stats: 2.98 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 293 Ks, 256.2 IP

Career stats: 3.46 ERA, 3.23 FIP, 3,116 Ks, 3261 IP

Where is he now: Media/internet personality

Curt Schilling’s arrival in Arizona on July 26, 2000 was something of a homecoming.

Schilling was born in Anchorage, Alaska, where his father was stationed as a master sergeant in the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division, but his family moved around before settling in Phoenix, where Schilling attended Shadow Mountain High School.

When he returned to the desert, he was an MLB veteran, having played eight and a half seasons with the Phillies, one with the Houston Astros, and parts of three with the Baltimore Orioles, becoming a three-time All-Star along the way.

Schilling seemingly only got better with the D-backs, and his 2001 season was one of the best of his career, finishing second in Cy Young voting, only behind his teammate Randy Johnson, and 10th in MVP voting, as he and Johnson propelled the team toward the Commissioner’s Trophy.

Schilling delivered seven innings of one-run baseball in Game 1 of the World Series, followed it up with a near repeat performance in Game 4 and delivered 7.1 strong innings of two-run ball in Game 7. The Diamondbacks won Game 1, and of course Game 7, and their other two wins, Game 2 and Game 6, were started by Johnson.

It makes sense, then, that Schilling and Johnson became Co-World Series MVPs, only the second instance of such a thing in World Series MVP history.

Schilling finished runner-up to Johnson in Cy Young voting once again in 2002, and only spent one more season with the Diamondbacks before wrapping up his career with a four-year stint with the Boston Red Sox.

After retiring following the 2007 season, Schilling has managed to stay in the public eye more so than potentially any other member of the 2001 Diamondbacks, and not always for the right reasons.

In 2006, when Schilling, an avid video game player, was still an MLB player, he created Green Monster Games, which soon after became 38 Studios. The company’s first project, “Project Copernicus,” was an MMORPG set in a fantasy world, and was planned to be something of a “World of Warcraft killer.”

“Project Copernicus” never made it to release, however, and “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” was the only game the studio ever put out, receiving “generally favorable” reviews, but not making enough money to break even.

In 2012, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after defaulting on a $75 million guaranteed loan handed out by the Rhode Island government.

More traditionally, Schilling has ventured into baseball media. He had a blog called 38Pitches, runs podcasts and even served as an analyst on ESPN from 2010 to 2016.

Schilling’s stint with ESPN ended with him being dismissed after sharing an anti-transgender meme on his Facebook page. The year prior, he was suspended for a tweet where he equated Muslim extremists to Nazis.

Despite losing his job at ESPN due to his behavior on social media, Schilling has continued to speak his mind. He has tweeted about the idea of lynching journalists, has supported the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and retweeted anti-Semitic ideas.

Schilling, to this day, is extremely active on X.

In more official media roles, Schilling has worked for right-wing news organizations such as Breitbart News Network, which he described in 2016 as “the last bastion of actual journalism.”

Schilling has also, at times, thrown around the idea of running for office.

He battled throat cancer in his post-playing days and entered remission in 2014.

Matt Williams: third baseman

World Series stats: .269/.250/.462, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 0 SB

Season stats: .275/.314/.466, 16 HRs, 65 RBIs, 1 SB

Career stats: .268/.317/.489, 378 HRs, 1218 RBIs, 53 SB

Where is he now: Seemingly retired after years of coaching

When Jay Bell crossed home plate to seal the Diamondbacks’ walk-off victory in Game 7, Willaims met his good friend with a bear hug. It was a celebration three years in the making.

Williams was there on March 31, 1998, stationed at the hot corner and hitting cleanup for the team’s inaugural game against the Colorado Rockies, and there he was 1,314 days later when they won it all, written into the lineup card exactly the same.

Upon joining the organization, Williams signed a five-year, $45 million contract extension that ran through his age 37 season in 2003.

Williams’ first year in Arizona was unremarkable, but the first year of the extension went swimmingly. He hit 35 home runs, placed third in NL MVP voting and got the All-Star nod for the fifth time in his career, and first time since 1996, when he was still with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he spent the first 10 years of his career.

After 1999, though, things started to go downhill. Williams graded out as a below league-average hitter in 2000 and 2001, posting an 83 and 92 OPS+, respectively. He returned to league average over 60 games in 2002, but his performance at the start of the 2003 season led to his release in June.

The release ended his playing days, but Williams stayed in baseball and tied to the Diamondbacks. He’s been a partial owner, a color commentator and a special assistant to the general partner, but is mostly remembered for his time as a coach.

Williams coached first base and later third base from 2009-13 before becoming the manager of the Washington Nationals. He compiled 179 wins to 145 losses during his time in the district. In 2014, he led the Nationals to an NLDS appearance after winning the NL East off the back of a 96-win regular season, and for his efforts, he was named the NL Manager of the Year. In 2015, however, the Nationals missed the playoffs, and Williams was fired as a result.

He returned to coaching third base for the Diamondbacks in 2016, before being hired by the Oakland Athletics to fulfill the same role from 2018-19, reuniting him with Bob Melvin, the Diamondbacks bench coach from 2001-02.

In between coaching for the Diamondbacks and the A’s, Williams appeared on Giants pre-game and post-game live on NBC Sports Bay Area.

After 2019, Williams dipped his toes into managing again, taking a job with the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization. Williams struggled in the foreign country, posting a measly 131-146 record across two seasons before returning to the U.S. and serving as the third base coach for the San Diego Padres from 2022-23 and for the Giants from 2024-25, both teams managed by Melvin.

Prior to coaching in 2007, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Williams ordered growth hormone in 2002. Williams admitted that he used the drug in an effort to help heal an ankle injury, but that he also stopped using it the very same season.

Williams was among those named in the Mitchell Report.

Tony Womack: infielder

World Series stats: .250/.294/344, 0 HR, 3 RBIs, 1 SB

Season stats: .266/.307/.354, 3 HR, 30 RBIs, 28 SB

Career stats: .273/.317/.356, 36 HR, 368 RBIs, 363 SB

Where is he now: Retired, enjoying golf and helping with baseball lessons

Womack’s double down the right field line against Rivera was the biggest hit of his life.

While Gonzalez might be remembered as the one to walk off Rivera and the Yankees, Womack’s game-tying, one-out, two-base hit changed the trajectory of the game, bringing the Diamondbacks’ win expectancy from 35% to 85%.

The forgotten hero’s time in the desert started in 1999, after spending parts of five seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was an All-Star and received MVP votes in 1997 despite posting a -0.9 bWAR – his league-leading 60 stolen bases surely catching the eye of fans and writers alike.

He only lasted with the Diamondbacks for a season and a half after helping the team reach the top, however, getting traded to the Colorado Rockies in 2003, who then sent him to the Chicago Cubs the very same season.

He last played in the show in 2006, appearing in nine games for the Cincinnati Reds and 19 more with the Cubs after being released.In 2018, Womack was an assistant coach for Team United in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars. He also spent time as an assistant coach at Charlotte Catholic High School, where his son Alsander attended from 2014-17.

Nowadays, there’s a higher chance of finding Womack on a golf course than on a baseball diamond, but the 56-year-old isn’t completely done with the game he loves.

“I help kids when they need help with lessons, etc., but no work,” Womack told Cronkite News. “I do it for the fun of the game.”

What about the other 2001 Diamondbacks?

The 2001 season saw 47 players don Diamondbacks uniforms, and while not all of them earned vignettes, here’s what the rest of the 2001 Diamondbacks are up to: