OutKick Exclusive: Diamondbacks Executive Luis Gonzalez Says Arizona Years Ahead Of Schedule In The NLCS Vs. Philadelphia

The Arizona Diamondbacks are four wins away from their first World Series since one of the more famous walk-offs in Major League Baseball history.

And the author of that will be right there again if the D-Backs make it.

Luis Gonzalez blooped a one-out, bases-loaded, RBI single to shallow center off New York Yankees' closer extraordinaire Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning on Nov. 4, 2001. The hit gave Arizona a 3-2, walk-off win and its only World Series title to date. Rivera, who holds the MLB career record for saves with 652, lost for the only time in the postseason in his 19-year career and ended his record streak of 23 postseason saves in 23 opportunities.

"Some of our guys probably weren't around when that happened," Gonzalez said laughing to OutKick.com on Monday from Philadelphia.

The Diamondbacks open the best-of-seven National League Championship Series against the Phillies tonight (8 p.m., TBS) at Citizens Bank Park. Texas was scheduled to play at Houston on Monday afternoon (4:30, FOX) in the second game of the ALCS. Texas won 2-0 on Sunday night.

Arizona is in its first NLCS since losing to Colorado in 2007. The Diamondbacks are in their first postseason since 2017 when they lost the National League Division Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Luis Gonzalez Likes Diamondbacks' Chances Vs. Philadelphia

Gonzalez, the special assistant to Arizona president and CEO Derrick Hall, will be seated as usual with Hall and team owner Ken Kendrick in a suite.

Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks is hitting .412 with two home runs in the 2023 Major League Baseball postseason. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Corbin Carroll, Arizona's star left fielder and likely National League Rookie of the Year, was a year old when Gonzalez entered Diamondback immortality with that game-winning hit.

"And there are some younger guys here," Gonzalez said. "I think most of them know about it. But that doesn't bother me. I enjoy the game. I love being around it. I love this group of kids."

Arizona Diamondbacks' Youth Movement Off To Fast Start

Key word, kids. Carroll just turned 23. He hit .285 in the regular season with 25 home runs, 10 triples and 76 RBIs. He is hitting .412 with two homers and four RBIs during the postseason, where the Diamondbacks are 5-0 with sweeps of Milwaukee and the Dodgers.

"Corbin has had a fantastic year. He's been a phenomenal force. I think he's been the key to everything," Gonzalez said.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno, whom Arizona traded for with Toronto in the off-season, is also just 23. He hit .284 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs in the regular season. He has already hit three home runs in the postseason.

Moreno hit the Diamondbacks' MLB postseason record fourth home run in an inning in the third last week in their 4-2 win over the Dodgers that clinched the division series. Geraldo Perdomo hit the first one, followed by Ketel Marte and Christian Walker before Moreno - all off pitcher Lance Lynn.

Perdomo, 23, made the All-Star Game in the 2023 season at shortstop. Arizona's bullpen has a pair of 25-year-olds in Luis Frias and Ryne Nelson.

Key word, precocious kids.

"This team was not expected to be here for another year or two," Gonzalez said. "With the youth, I don't think anyone expected them to play as well as they've been playing. The plan that was in place was for 2024 or '25 or '26 to be competitive. But the way these guys played, they sped up the process. It has been a lot of fun to see them mature really in front of our eyes in the last year."

D-Backs Backed Into The Playoffs

The Diamondbacks did finish an average 84-78 and 16 games behind the Dodgers in the National League West. They had to sweat out the last day of the regular season just to make the Wild Card round. Had National League Central last place St. Louis (71-91) not beat Cincinnati, 15-6, Arizona would have had to beat the Astros that Sunday. Houston won 1-0.

"It's crazy how you play 162 games, and it comes down to the last few days of the season," Gonzalez said. "I was sitting up top with the owner and the president, and we were scoreboard watching the whole time."

And Phoenix has been in 2001 mode ever since with that 110-loss season in 2021 a distant memory.

"The town's in a buzz right now," Gonzalez said. "It has been a little bit of time since we've been able to make a run in the playoffs. This is a city and state with a lot of people that come from different parts of the country that live here. We have slowly grown fans who are in their 20s and 30s who were really young when we won it in 2001 and when the franchise started in 1998."

And now the Diamondbacks will be amid the Philly fanatics, who have had a Major League team since 1893 with a fan base known for anything but hospitality. But the Diamondbacks did win two of three at Philadelphia during the regular season.

Philadelphia right-hander Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61 ERA regular season, 1-0, 2.08 ERA postseason) will face Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen (17-9, 3.47 ERA regular season, 2-0, 3.18 ERA postseason).

Arizona Ready For Hostile Environment In Philadelphia

"Tonight's going to be a hostile environment," Gonzalez said Monday. "The magnitude of it will be different than the regular season when we were there. L.A. and Milwaukee were rowdy, but not like what they're going to experience tonight and Tuesday. Everything is amped up. It's magnified. It's postseason play."

The series will continue in Philadelphia on Tuesday (8:07 p.m., TBS) before Arizona hosts on Thursday through Saturday.

"But our young guys are up for the task, man," Gonzalez said. "They love it. Every series we've had in the playoffs, no one has picked them to win it. They've embraced that underdog role, and it's been working for them so far."