How the Diamondbacks Have Built Their Clubhouse Culture
Corbin Carroll is often very thoughtful and reserved when it comes to interviews. He takes his time with answers, thinking carefully about what he wants to say and how much of his inner thoughts he wants to divulge. His approach is understandable, as being the number one prospect in the game he's had to deal with a lot of media attention ever since he got called up.
Nothing lightens his mood, or puts a bigger smile on his face however then when he gets to talk about one of his young teammates. That was especially the case during pre game interviews prior to Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. His close friend Alek Thomas has been having a good series, hitting a dramatic game-tying homer in Game 4, and hitting a solo shot in a Game 5 loss. Thomas has hit four homers in total this postseason and appears to have made a breakthrough at the plate. As he was asked about Thomas' progress, Carroll's face lit up and his smile went ear to ear.
"I've gotten to see him since 2020. You know, play with him. I've always seen kind of that ability to drive the ball, a special ability to drive the ball especially the other way. To see it come out right now on the biggest stage in this way, as a friend, it makes me so happy to see."
The two young outfielders first began playing together at the alternate site at Salt River Fields during the 2020 pandemic season. Carroll was just 19 and Thomas was 20 at the time. It was during this period that they began to forge bonds and develop their friendship. They talked and dreamed about playing on the biggest stages together, like they're getting to do now.
"Those conversations would absolutely take place in 2020. It was us two and Dominic Fletcher as well there. We'll be, like, how cool would it be if all three of us were in the outfield one day together? I think there was a period this year where all three of us were on the active roster, and those are cool memories to look back on."
After the big Game 6 win last night, I caught up to Carroll and mentioned his smile and reaction, and asked him what it means to be able to achieve what they have so far as teammates and brothers.
"That means everything to me. Everyone’s got a different story to get here. Everyone’s faced hardships along the way. Some more than others. I think just knowing those stories and to be able to do this together, that means more than anything to me."
Thomas relayed a small anecdote from last night's game that helps reveal how their relationship works and how they help each other.
"It was funny, because Corbin broke three bats today and on the fourth bat he got a hit and scored and we were messing with him in the dugout and keeping things light hearted. I think that’s our relationship, very lighthearted and always fun. It’s cool to be around someone who’s your age and going through the same things. He’s been in the spotlight for a while and he’s hard on himself but today I was just trying to get a smile out of him. He did and it’s a hard game. He’s been amazing. A good friend, and a good teammate."
It's not just about Carroll and Thomas. The team has a ever growing group of young players on the roster and that have contributed throughout the year. Thomas spoke about the developing and growing young core of players and the culture they're building together, with Carroll as their leader.
I feel like I’ve been with [Geraldo] Perdomo and [Jose] Herrera my whole career. [Gabriel] Moreno feels like he fits right in with the younger group. He’s a guy that grew up in the Blue Jays organization and now he’s come over here. We opened our arms to him and he’s been great. We take him out to dinner and he’s the only non English speaker here but he’s hilarious. We’re definitely trying to create a culture and I think Corbin has definitely been the leader.
It's not only about the youth on this ball club either. Mike Hazen's front office has done a great job of bringing in veterans that can help the young players grow both on and off the field. Earlier this year Christian Walker kick started a trend of chess playing in the clubhouse. The D-backs "chess club" eventually grew to the point where it was common to see five or six players huddled around the board teaching each other how to play. As Walker said, the most important thing was for them to spend additional quality time together.
That veteran leadership and experience also has had a big impact on the field. Earlier in this series Pavin Smith talked about Jace Peterson, who is not even on the NLCS roster, helping him in the batting cages get ready for his pinch hit appearances. That work resulted in some big hits for Smith contributing to the D-backs comeback in this series.
And then there was Tommy Pham explaining last night his role in working with Thomas to help improve some of his hitting mechanics. Here are his comments in full, unedited, because they reveal a lot about things can work when you have the right kind of interplay between veterans and young players. Asked about Thomas' improvements, here is how it went last night
"He's controlling his back side a lot better. When I got traded here, I watched him hit, and I don't know, in a span of games I watched, he was just jumping out so far to hit the ball. I started talking to the hitting coaches. I'm, like, you know, you guys got to get this guy to stay back."
"They were, like, you don't think we've told him? I was, like, all right, man, let me try to talk to him.'
"So I started talking to him about his swing and what I thought, and I started showing him things that I felt like he could do better to make him a harder out. He really took what I said and ran with it, man, and it's been beautiful watching him continue to get better at it."
"Probably going to have to give me a tip or something for helping him out, but he's really gotten better mechanically with his swing, and it's allowing him to pull the ball in the air better, drive the ball the other way. And I mean, I wish I could take what I know about hitting and translate it that quick because I wouldn't be struggling as much as I do."
"Like I said, it's been beautiful watching him continue to get better at it."
The Diamondbacks are building a culture of caring for one another. Nobody embodies that culture more than their manager Torey Lovullo. Night after night, day after day, he talks about the power of connectedness. It's all been coming together this postseason. A team that on paper many felt had no business being in the playoffs in the first place, let alone making it to Game 7 of the NLCS, has shown what can be done when everyone is pulling for one another and doing everything they can to build up their brothers and teammates. It is indeed a beautiful thing to watch.
