The Diamondbacks have revitalized their fan base. But will they give them another run in October?

PHOENIX — Three hours before first pitch No. 162, Arizona Diamondbacks fans sat scattered on the concrete canvas outside Chase Field’s closed entrances. Most wore tired expressions, embraced by 100-plus degree heat at 9 a.m. on a Sunday. But there they were, nonetheless ready to go all the way in a season that began with renewed expectations for their reigning National League champions.

The Diamondbacks took the field not knowing what was going to happen next. In a tight NL wild-card race, they could land one of the two remaining bids, be eliminated altogether, or move deeper into the unknown, which is ultimately what happened. An 11-2 victory over the Padres simultaneously saved their season and handed its fate to the Mets and Braves.

“I might be a little upset right now, but you reap what you sow,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We put ourselves in this position, we won 89 games, we had a really, really good year. I don’t want this to end. I’m not ready to say goodbye.

One week away from being in a good position to punch back-to-back playoff tickets for the first time since 2001-02, the Diamondbacks now face a Mets-Braves doubleheader that determines how far they’ll be allowed to go in a game re-engaged. fan base. The conclusion of Sunday’s contest made official the franchise’s highest average home attendance since 2008. It’s a statistic as significant as it is fragile at Arizona State, a known hotbed for fair-weather fans.

Those who jumped on the Diamondbacks bandwagon during their World Series run a season ago will be hungry for a return on their investment.

“We want to keep winning them back, piece by piece and year by year, because we want to constantly be in this situation,” said Lovullo, who presided over the team for eight seasons.

The Diamondbacks took a while to warm up, having spent much of the first two months of the regular season below .500 before their bats came alive. Then, in the midst of a late-season stretch that saw the team regress toward its early-season form, Arizona went from being an NL wild card to seeing its playoff chances become precarious. Until Sunday, the team’s bats had cooled considerably en route to five losses in six games during a stretch that saw baseball’s best offense with two shutouts, both at home. But the Diamondbacks found their form just in time.

A six-run fourth inning on Sunday is the main reason they could still play into October.

Because the runs were scored on five consecutive at-bats, the library atmosphere of Chase Field was suddenly overtaken by the patter of the 38,892 people in attendance. Fittingly, star second baseman Ketel Marte was responsible for the game’s final crescendo. When his bat made contact, the stadium went silent. For a moment, everyone, including Marte, stood at attention as the ball traveled 443 feet under the lights. Then, as Marte chewed her pack of gum and broke into a trot, the noise barrier broke. Lovullo said it was the half inning that got his team back to “D-backs baseball.”

“Phoenix is ​​not always necessarily considered a big baseball town or a big market team,” said star outfielder Corbin Carroll, “but I think when we play good baseball, there are so many fans and so much support that has carried us through the year.

In 2021, Arizona averaged 12,877 spectators. COVID-19 was certainly a factor. But 110 losses, the second most in Diamondbacks history, didn’t help, especially since their attendance was still below 20,000 the following season in 2022. The Diamondbacks have since recovered, and more still, league-wide pandemic lows. In 2024, their average regular season attendance was 28,912.

“Right after I finished last year, once the season was over, I was living here so I was seeing a lot more D-backs hats and jerseys,” said reliever Kevin Ginkel, who has been a Diamondback since his rookie year in 2019, regarding the team’s increased fan support. “…If we make a run like we did last year and we hope to win it, this town will be buzzing for D-backs baseball.”

Luke Babinsky, 21, from Arizona, said his support for the team dates back to “the Stephen Drew days.” He saw crowds of fair-weather fans come and go. And for the most part, he doesn’t mind. But when the Diamondbacks are good, as they have been in recent years, it’s more of a disadvantage than anything else. “I love the different fan bases and the people that come to support our team,” Babinsky said. “But it also creates a lot of people for autographs.”

If things go their way in Atlanta and the Diamondbacks turn a wild card trip into home games in the NLDS, those crowds will increase even more. Fresh off a World Series appearance, the Diamondbacks have momentum on their side. Whether they keep it, and perhaps some of their fans, is no longer up to them.

Like everyone else, they will be watching from home, which to them is Chase Field. The team has two schedules depending on the outcome. There is a melee and non-melee schedule. At the top of the clinch schedule is a bullet that says “Team Celebration.” A sweep of the Mets or Braves unlocks this option. All the Diamondbacks – players, coaches and fans – will send fair-weather cheers to whoever wins the first game.

“It’s hard but it’s not, is it?” » said Carroll. “The work is done. The work is finished. …At this point, it is what it is. We can sit back and see what happens tomorrow and be ready to go if we enter.

(Top photo of a Diamondbacks fan on Sunday: Chris Coduto/Getty Images)