PHOENIX — Arriving at the ballpark the day after losing the World Series is a tough reminder. The emotions are still raw and super heavy. Locker room cleanout is never fun, especially when it doesn’t involve a World Series trophy. But it is a chance to pack up for the offseason and reflect. The biggest plus side to this D-backs postseason run is all the extra baseball for this young baseball team.
“I think we showed the world that we’re ready to go and we’ll certainly be ready to go next season,” said rookie pitcher Brandon Pfaadt.
“It’s an honor to be able to throw extra innings,” said ace pitcher Zac Gallen, who just threw the most innings in his career and took a no-hitter into the 7th inning of Game 5 of the World Series. “It means you did your job.”
"You have a number of young players that have playoff and October long-sleeve baseball experience," said manager Torey Lovullo. “You can't simulate that. We’re one we're one big step ahead of the game. When we step into spring training, they know what it's like.”
Young players like outfielders Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and catch Gabriel Moreno grew up quickly. And starter pitchers like Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly will be more understanding during the regular season when Lovullo decides to pull them earlier in games to save their arm for the postseason.
“(I’ll tell them) we're going to budget for the back end. I think they're going to understand that now, and they never understood that (before),” said Lovullo. “Maybe those guys will get it a little bit more clearly now, because they would fight me every time.”
"We got like 20 playoff games and like 75 at-bats for Corbin Carroll in his rookie year in the playoffs,” said general manager Mike Hazen. “What kind of experience could you ever want for these kids, but to just be like, toss them into the deep end of the pool and say go get them. And they did. They carried us a lot. Playoff Ketel (Marte) carried us. That was an incredible thing .”
Hazen said the goal this offseason will make sure the young players are well prepared for a short offseason. Spring Training is a little more than three months away.
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