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The Arizona Diamondbacks played their first game in 1998 at Bank One Ballpark, which was later renamed Chase Field. In the team's first five seasons, the Diamondbacks won three division titles and one World Series. After a disappointing 2000 season, the Diamondbacks fired manager Buck Showalter. Led by two of the most dominant pitchers of all-time, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, the Diamondbacks defeated the infamous New York Yankees in the World Series to become the youngest expansion franchise to win the World Series. After Arizona hit the pinnacle of its existence as a team, the team steadily declined.
In 2004, despite Randy Johnson pitching a perfect game, the team finished with just 51 wins, the worst in baseball. Following the 2004 season, the Diamondbacks made several moves in an attempt to beef up the team. They acquired Javier Vasquez, Brad Halsey, and Shawn Green. In addition, the team signed Troy Glaus and Royce Clayton, among others.
The D-Backs finished with a 90-72 record in 2007 to win the NL West. Although they came up short against the Colorado Rockies in the NLCS, it was a very positive season as it showed great potential from young talented players. Last season Arizona fought hard in the regular season, only to come up 2 games short behind the LA Dodgers. They finished 82-80, failing to win the division or the wild card.
The Diamondbacks are very optimistic leading into the 2009 season. They recently signed pitcher Jon Garland and are expected to close a deal shortly with Tom Gordon to add strength to their bullpen. Arizona will be a very strong team and will be expected to show improvement after developing players last season.
