Arizona Diamondbacks creating a fresh buzz in the Valley

The Valley has a long history of disappointment. Teams that melt our hearts inevitably break our hearts. Teams that seem destined for greatness often end up in the basement. Not surprisingly, we’ve become a bit skeptical over the years — conditioned to impending disappointment.

The 2017 Diamondbacks are breaking the mold. Their sustained excellence is changing our notorious wait-and-see attitude, and the proof is in the numbers.

“You could definitely feel the difference last weekend,” the Diamondbacks’ Daniel Descalso said. “Not only are we seeing larger crowds, but they were loud and they were into the game. I think it’s because we’ve proven we’re a good, winning ballclub and we’re going to play some meaningful games here late in the summer and down the stretch.”

Home attendance reflects the growing belief. The team drew almost 100,000 fans for a three-game series against the Brewers; they attracted 121,000 fans for a four-game set against the lowly Phillies, including more than 21,000 for a Monday matinee game; and on Thursday, the crowd for an afternoon game against the Cardinals exceeded 27,000.

Prior to June 1, the team was averaging 22,648 spectators per game. That figure has soared to 27,789 over the past four weeks. That’s a quantum leap in these parts.

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The level of engagement has been even more impressive, with fans beginning to stand and cheer during key moments, feeding energy to a team that hasn’t heard this kind of commotion in years. Chase Field is becoming the place to be and be seen, as evidenced by the two amateurs who felt compelled to run on the field in the past week. 

“We’ve been saying it for years: if we win, people will come and watch,” Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb said. “It’s pretty simple. I grew up a baseball fan, and if the team wasn’t winning, they were no fun to watch. It doesn’t matter how much of a die-hard fan you are. It’s no fun to watch a bad team.”

The shifting vibe at Chase Field is a dramatic and wonderful occurrence, especially for a stadium that generally looks like an airplane hangar and sounds like a morgue during the summer months.

In Zack Greinke’s pair of Opening Day starts with Arizona, the crowd seemed dispassionate and out of touch, as if they were attending a movie premiere. Two-strike counts generated no response, atypical to the crescendo of noise that normally accompanies big moments on a baseball field.

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That’s no longer the case, and maybe it’s because these Diamondbacks have rewarded their paying customers, winning 30 of their first 40 home games prior to the current two-game skid. Maybe it’s because the Valley is starving for a true contender, a region where the Suns, Diamondbacks and Coyotes have combined for 17 consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

Or maybe it’s because the new regime symbolizes a revolution of sorts, where the combination of front-office analytics and elite dugout management speaks to sustained success.

Either way, it’s working. And maybe it’s a blessing that plans for a humidor have been shelved until the 2018 season, where carefully preserved baseballs will be easier for pitchers to grip, and harder for batters to hit out of the park. Why mess with a good thing?

“One of the things that has really stood out this year is our ability to come from behind and win baseball games,” said Descalso, who won a World Series title in St. Louis. “We’ve been down early in some games, where maybe the offense isn’t clicking right away, where the first couple of times through the order we don’t have much to show for it.

“But we’ve been able to fight back in the later innings and steal some victories. If you’re a good ball club, your pitching staff is able to keep you in some of those games, and your offense is able to rally towards the end.”

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The team’s resiliency extends beyond the turnstiles. Television ratings grew 23 percent from May to June and are up 28 percent overall.

Sports franchises in Arizona fight a constant battle with apathy, ticket sales and transient fans. The Cardinals have sold out every game in Glendale but have yet to find the peak level of partisanship, where tickets are treasured and not pawned for profit. Suns star Devin Booker often has his best games under adverse conditions, taking offense whenever mixed allegiances tear at the fabric of home-court advantage.

The Diamondbacks have a long way to go. They will reach the halfway point of the season with Friday’s game, and a two-game losing streak to the Cardinals proves they will not win every series at home. But the franchise has learned a valuable lesson along the way.

They are pioneers in Major League Baseball when it comes to culinary creations, unveiling new concession items that appeal to a sport fan’s stomach. But nothing tastes better or goes down easier than a playoff contender, the kind with young stars and a really bright future.

Reach Bickley at [email protected] or 602-444-8253. Follow him on twitter.com/dan.bickley. Listen to “Bickley and Marotta” weekdays from 12-2 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.