The Arizona Diamondbacks are one of the hottest teams in baseball, with a 15-5 record in August, a 24-8 mark since the All-Star break and their fourth straight win with Friday’s 12-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Superior talent, analytics, strategy and experience from last year’s World Series are obvious reasons for the D-backs’ success. Another factor may be manager Torey Lovullo’s lack of coordination with his players.
The latest example of this from the eighth-year captain was on display before Friday’s game, when Lovullo threw batting practice to set the team’s fantasy football draft order. Each ball during Lovullo’s turn in the cage was numbered, and the distance he hit each one determined a player’s draft position. As reported by NESN’s Tom Caron.
D’backs manager Torey Lovullo took the practice ball at Fenway to set the order for his team’s fantasy football draft. Each ball was numbered, and the distance he hit each one determined the position. It hit the wall on Merrill Kelley’s baseball (going first) and popped up on Joc Pederson’s (going last). image.twitter.com/aohDpCSmAE
— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) August 24, 2024
Lovullo hit the wall at Fenway Park on a ball from pitcher Merrill Kelly, so Kelly will be selected first in the D-backs’ fantasy football draft. Now he can boast more than just his 3.63 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.
Manager Joc Pederson has elevated the ball, so unfortunately he will be the last to be selected. The veteran slugger will have to console himself with his 20 home runs, 58 RBIs, .292 batting average and .959 OPS.
A major league manager taking batting practice would be a fun enough sight most days, but the stakes of determining his players’ draft order in fantasy football added a bit of interest.
Lovullo hit .224 during his eight MLB seasons, so putting those draft picks in his hands (or on his bat) could have been risky. Or it just proved that the whole exercise was a fun one for a team that’s having a lot of fun on the field right now.
