D-backs Leadership Reacts to Winning National League Pennant

The Diamondbacks' leadership praised the efforts the players put on the field to win their first pennant since 2001.

The Diamondbacks will be playing in their first World Series since the 2001 season. Despite trailing 2-0 and 3-2 in the National League Championship Series, the team dug deep and played their best two games of the series in Games 6 and 7. As a result of their never-ending belief in themselves, they got to celebrate winning their first National League pennant in 22 years.

Here's what the brain trust and on-field leadership had to say about the efforts this team has put on the field.

Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick

"Most people think we would be here. Every one of these young men standing around us, they believed and here we are. We are bringing the [National League] championship back to Arizona. We have more work to do, but it's a great night to be a D-back."

President and CEO Derrick Hall

"I'm so happy for our players, for our coaches, our manager, our general manager. I'm so happy for our employees, who are the best in the industry, but really for our fans. They stuck with us, they were patient, they were supportive, they were trustworthy when we said we were building something. And now we're back!"

Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Hazen

"We just have a tremendous group of players that work really hard, coaches, and a really great manager. They've played phenomenal so far in the playoffs and we got some more work to do. We're going to head down to Texas and see what we can do down there too."

Hazen had a chance to talk about their bullpen, which transformed into a team strength almost overnight over the past two months.

"Those guys have played as a group and have carried us to where we are today. The last 4-5 innings of every game, we're shutting them down and giving the offense a chance to score runs."

Manager Torey Lovullo

"I think the big part of this culture is resiliency, adaptability, and understanding you're going to have some good and bad days. You got to budget for those times. I've said it many times and I'll say it again, a connected team is a very dangerous team. No matter what happened through those times of crisis, these guys stuck together. I was a true commitment and a true bond that I watched every single day."

Coming back to win Games 6 and 7 on the road is no easy feat, as teams in the D-backs position were 4-4 in a Game 7. Before the D-backs and Rangers did it on back-to-back nights, the last time to come back from down 3-2 on the road in an LCS was the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

"This group totally believed and committed to one another and they just sold out for a bigger cause. For us to be standing on this stage is a great moment. We're going to bring home this trophy to the state of Arizona, we are so Arizona proud. I just want to say thanks to every one of those fans that supported us, there were several here today. This is a very hostile crowd, this is a very good crowd, but our guys were very focused. They had an effort that didn't waver and they knew what their task was every single pitch."

Lovullo reiterated the D-backs are a "damn good baseball team" and are ready for the next step, which is winning a World Series championship. They're now four wins away from doing that.