Luis Gonzalez was catalyst for Diamondbacks offense that won 2001 World Series

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

PHOENIX – Of the 166,234 at-bats during the 2001 MLB season, 28,680 resulted in singles. None were more significant than Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth during Game 7 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. The hit gave the Diamondbacks a 3-2 win, and Arizona its first and only major professional men’s title to date. 

A quarter of a century later, Gonzalez’s bases-loaded blooper is not only etched in the memory of every Diamondbacks fan, but in the mind of the man at the plate as well. 

“From winning our first major championship here for the state of Arizona, here we are 25 years later and fans still recognize us,” Gonzalez said. “The community and everybody still rallies around us whenever we do anything.” 

The 2001 World Series win is among the most important in the history of professional sports in Arizona but it was also a culmination of years of toil for Gonzalez, who hadn’t made an All-Star game in the nine years before joining the Diamondbacks, but had a career season in 2001. 

Gonzalez played in all 162 games in 2001, hammering a team-high 57 home runs and 142 RBI at a batting average of .325 and slugging percentage of .688. His 198 hits were seventh in the major leagues and his 1.117 OPS, fourth in the MLB, was the only time in his 19-year career that it crossed the 1.000 mark. 

In recognition of Gonzalez’s role as the leader of a strong Diamondbacks offense, the 33-year-old received a second All-Star nod and finished third in the NL MVP race behind Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. 

Gonzalez even won the home run derby that season, beating out Bonds, Sosa, Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez, among others, to take home the crown. 

Yet looking back at his accomplishments, Gonzalez’ first instinct was to praise the environment around him that allowed him to produce those stellar numbers. 

“I was hitting in front of a guy like Tony Womack who was leading the league in stolen bases, Steve Finley, or whether it was Jay Bell or Craig Counsell, whoever was hitting second,” Gonzalez said. “It seemed like every time I was coming up, there (were) runners on base. Especially in April, I was hitting a lot of home runs in April that really got my confidence level going pretty high, and I felt invincible as the year was going on.”

The 2001 season was Gonzalez’s year, but April saw him ascend to a different level, tying Ken Griffey Jr.’s record for most home runs in the month with 13, momentum that never let up through the playoff run. 

Despite being only four years removed from expansion and led by rookie manager Bob Brenly, formerly the team’s television broadcaster, the Diamondbacks powered through the National League playoffs before taking down the vaunted defending champion Yankees in the World Series. 

After a blowout 15-2 Diamondbacks victory in Game 6 forced a deciding game at then-Bank One Ballpark, Game 7 only added to the suspense. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera hit Counsell to load the bases. 

Gonzalez was warming up in the on-deck circle, focusing on where to celebrate when Counsell, the NLCS MVP, drove in the winning runs. Instead, he was thrust into the moment. As Gonzalez walked to the plate, his mind went to “the fans, (his) family, (his) friends, (his) coaches, the journey that got (him) there”, before shutting down once he stepped into the batter’s box. 

Rivera, known for his cutter that broke in towards left-handed hitters as much as his legendary ability to close out games, threw nearly identical pitches back-to-back to Gonzalez. Gonzalez fouled the first one off. The second became an iconic moment in Arizona sports history. 

“When Gonzo hit that little blooper, a lot of things were; it was all meant to be,” then-Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo said. “Everything went silent for me when that happened, and then when (Bell) hit home plate, everything exploded.”

Gonzalez’s hit has since been replayed thousands of times but the team’s connection is just as everlasting. Brenly described the players’ bond off the field as “cohesive” and recalled Gonzalez’ frequent pranks throughout Brenly’s tenure as manager. 

Bob Melvin, who served as a bench coach for the Diamondbacks, departed for the Seattle Mariners following the 2001 season. During one conversation while in Arizona, Melvin disclosed his deathly fear of clowns, so when the Mariners visited Tucson the following season for a spring training game, Gonzalez decided to pull his leg. 

“Gonzo gets on the phone and somehow finds a couple of clowns in Tucson to come out to the ballpark: full costume, red nose, the whole deal, and they stood on top of the Mariners dugout all day,” Brenly said. “Every time Mel would poke his head out, he’d see those clowns and (go) back in again.”

In a similar incident, outfielder Reggie Sanders showed up late to spring training due to a flat tire. Gonzalez retrieved a tire and placed it in Sanders’ locker. 

The 2001 World Series winning team will share more laughs when they reunite at Chase Field in September as the Diamondbacks honor the 25th anniversary of the team’s World Series victory, one whose impact won’t fade anytime soon. 

“It was probably one of the greatest moments of my baseball career and I’m sure a lot of other guys could say the same thing,” Gonzalez said.

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