With the departure of Paul Goldschmidt over the winter, a void opened in the heart of the Diamondbacks line-up. This was a man who had given the D-backs four top-six finishes in MVP voting over the previous half-dozen years, anchoring the offense. He gave fans a reason to watch Arizona’s games, even when the standings didn’t. But Ketel Marte didn’t just provide an acceptable substitute, the “is Pepsi alright?” to Goldy’s Coke. He gave the Diamondbacks a season which stands beside the very best of Goldschmidt. Even though it ended prematurely, Marte missing the last ten games, he still has a shot at leading the league in hits,
I’m sure we’ll have a full review of Ketel’s campaign in due course - probably around the time MVP voting this year is announced.