by Nathan Halfpenny

Created on: July 30, 2008

Randy Johnson is inarguably the greatest player to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 2008 is his eighth season as a D-Back and in that time Johnson has earned 4 Cy Young awards, in consecutive years from 1999-2002, and led the team to their 2001 World Series Championship, as well as earning co-MVP honors along with Curt Schilling. He leads the franchise in virtually every major pitching category including, strikeouts, wins, innings pitched, ERA, complete games and shutouts. Johnson's career totals are mind-boggling, but his number as a Diamondback are even more impressive. Johnson has recorded 115 wins, 2,005 strikeouts (an average of 11.21 per nine innings) and a 3.14 ERA. Johnson also became just the 17th player in Major League history to record a perfect game on May 18th against the Atlanta Braves.

Luis Gonzalez, or Gonzo, was the face of the Arizona franchise while in a Diamondback uniform. He was acquired in a trade for a young prospect named Karim Garcia from the Detroit Tigers and immediately established himself as a fan favorite. During the World Series year of 2001, Gonzo put together one of the single greatest statistical seasons in baseball history hitting .325, 57 HR's and 142 RBI. Gonzo remains the franchise's all-time leader in virtually every offensive category. He leads the franchise with 1,337 hits, 310 doubles, 224 HR's, 774 RBI, 650 walks and a .298 average all as a Diamondback.

The aforementioned Johnson and Gonzalez top the list of the greatest all-time Diamondbacks but there are still others that deserve mention. Curt Schilling was as integral a part of the Diamondbacks as Randy Johnson during the 2001 season. Compiling a record of 22-6 with an ERA of 2.96 and recording 293 strikeouts in 256.2 innings, Schilling shared the World Series MVP with Johnson. Steve Finley was also a member of the 2001 World Series team and was a Diamondback for the better part of six seasons. He ranks 2nd in most offensive categories for the franchise amassing 847 hits, 1,326 RBI, 153 HR's, 150 doubles and 491 runs scored as a D-Back. He also played solid defense earning 3 gold-glove awards in center field in 1999, 2000 and 2004. Brandon Webb could possibly surpass Randy Johnson as the teams all time greatest pitcher should he stay a Diamondback long enough. He has been in Arizona for his entire career and has already earned a Cy Young award and two all-star appearances. He has already collected 1,004 strikeouts, 79 wins and a career ERA of 3.21 in just over 5 seasons and is the front runner for the National League Cy Young award again this season. Although the Diamondbacks are still a very young franchise they have had their fair share of success and talented players. The current team is full of young players brought up from within the organization that have the potential of becoming a member of the all time greatest Arizona Diamondbacks.

Learn more about this author, Nathan Halfpenny.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.