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Arizona Diamondbacks
Overall: 55
Title track: 52
Ownership: 94
Coaching: 118
Players: 97
Fan relations: 82
Affordability: 12
Stadium experience: 62
Bang for the buck: 2
Change from last year: -46
Give the Diamondbacks credit for having the courage to roll the dice, even if it came up snake eyes. An offseason roster overhaul intended to make them front-runners in the NL West fizzled quickly, and the last-place D-backs plunged 46 points from last season, the most dramatic fall of any MLB team. In fact, their No. 55 ranking is the lowest for the D-backs since we began our standings in 2003.
What's good
The D-backs again rank high in affordability (12th overall), and they do their best to be lighter on the wallet. The average ticket price of $18.53 is the least expensive of any of the four major sports, and the average cost of a game at Chase Field -- $30.86 -- is a full 20 bucks below MLB average. A nice touch this season was placing the names of full and half-season ticket holders on the top of the dugout. The D-backs also converted a section of the upper right-field concourse to "La Terraza," where fans enjoyed a Latin scene with live music and regional food, and added a free Spanish-language magazine entitled La Cueva, which was available at the ballpark along with the free English-language publication, D-backs Insider. A nice ballpark experience and those low, low ticket prices might have made fans forget what was on the field, which explains the best MLB ranking in bang for the buck.
What's bad
Free-agent signee Zack Greinke underperformed after signing a $206.5 million contract, and right-hander Shelby Miller (6.15 ERA) has been a disaster since the D-backs acquired him from the Braves for a boatload of prospects, including 2015 No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson. Budding star A.J. Pollock went down with a serious injury just before Opening Day, and the D-backs were nine games out of first place by Memorial Day. The result of all that disappointment in these standings? A predictable 65-point free fall in players. A 56-point drop in coaching didn't bode well for second-year skipper Chip Hale, who was fired along with GM Dave Stewart in early October. A chunk of D-backs fans, as well as the media, feel the management team of Stewart and chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, who has stepped down to take an advisory role with new GM Mike Hazen, didn't pay nearly enough attention to advanced metrics.
What's new
The D-backs have been involved in a very public spat with Maricopa County officials regarding roughly $187 million in current and future maintenance obligations through 2027 at Chase Field. In March, the club hinted at leaving downtown Phoenix for a new, state-of-the-art facility, which clearly rubbed fans the wrong way. The D-backs dropped 60 points in fan relations from last season, and the ownership rank is approaching triple digits. This has been a down year for a franchise that has traditionally done well in our standings (five top-10 finishes), but major front-office changes are under way. While they're at it, they can dump their new alternate gray road uniforms. Rob Lowe tweeted that the new digs "made them look like futuristic maintenance men working on a trash truck in space."
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