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Before the Diamondbacks’ illustrious postseason run in 2023, Zac Gallen could roam the streets of Phoenix and surrounding areas in relative anonymity.
Many passersby had no idea whom he was. Those who did approach him often seemed less than confident that he was, in fact, Zac Gallen.
But, after the Diamondbacks’ World Series pursuit ended in November, both Gallen and his girlfriend found it all but impossible to go anywhere without interacting with a fan.
“For a good month there,” Gallen told reporters at the Diamondbacks’ Celebrity Golf Classic on Friday, “it was anywhere we went, any time we left the house … It’s definitely changed.”
For Gallen, this was not a bad thing. He is easy-going, happy to talk with whomever crosses his path.
Over the past few months, he has taken many pictures, signed many autographs. Fans have approached him to express their gratitude, he said, not so much for the team’s successful season, but the memories with loved ones that Gallen and his teammates helped create.
The people of Arizona seem to be growing in recognition and admiration of the Diamondbacks’ ace. And Gallen seems to be falling more in love with the place he has called home since 2019.
“I love Phoenix,” he said. “I love it here, especially after us having this success, and seeing that there’s some energy here about baseball.
“The fans have proven that they want a winner.”
Gallen has spoken highly of his time with the Diamondbacks in the past, but the fanbase’s support during the 2023 postseason seems to have taken that up a notch. In Gallen’s entry in The Player’s Tribune last month, he wrote that the best thing about the team’s playoff run was the “pure joy our fans got to experience.”
On Friday, he talked further about how the energy of the fanbase endeared him to the city.
“It was good to see that there was life there,” Gallen said. “As much as we’re athletes, we’re also, for lack of a better word, performers, too. You want to play in front of a crowd. You want to have energy. It just makes your job that much more enjoyable to go out there and perform and play well in front of a crowd.”
Gallen is currently under contract with the Diamondbacks through the end of the 2025 season. His agent, Scott Boras, is well-known for taking his clients to free agency, in the belief that the most lucrative possible deal will come from the open market.
However, as outlined in a recent mailbag story, Boras has signed several extensions for starting pitchers over the years.
While open to the idea of an extension, Gallen said that he is not aware of any contract discussions that have happened to date.
“I can’t speak for the other side,” he said. “If they want to decide to do something, great, we’ll sit down and figure it out and see what happens. But, as of right now, nothing’s been done.”
For what it’s worth, Gallen sure is not talking like someone who wants to be elsewhere in two years.
Gallen seems convinced that the crew at The Player’s Tribune, a platform for athletes to publish their own stories, could not have been pleased with his lack of responsiveness when they first contacted him.
To be fair, he did have a valid excuse. He was pitching in the biggest games of his life.
Around the start of the World Series, the Tribune reached out to Gallen about the possibility of publishing an article. He was asked if he wanted to write a piece that would be released during the World Series, something that could get fans hyped up.
Gallen opted to write a story after the playoffs instead, which was ultimately entitled “The Diamondbacks Will Be Back to Ruin the Party.” The piece served as a thank-you note of sorts, and an ushering in of what he deemed to be a “whole new era of D-backs baseball.”
Gallen tag-teamed the writing of the story with a representative from the Tribune. “It’s been a while since I took an English class,” he said.
The story released on Dec. 19.
“It kind of encapsulated how I felt, hopefully how the city felt,” he said. “I’ve had some people come up and say they were very appreciative of it. So that made it worth it for me.”
Gallen added that he has admired The Player’s Tribune for years, back to when he was a kid.
When Tommy Henry hit the injured list with elbow inflammation in late July, he was not expecting to be out for the season.
“Initially,” Henry said, “it was kind of one of those things where you’re hoping it’s a week, maybe two weeks, maybe 2 1/2. But it was tough.
“It was a new territory for me. It took patience that I didn’t necessarily have at times. But you just kind of had to listen to your body and know that that’s going to ultimately lead you to make the right decision.”
Henry’s name was floated as a possible addition to the Diamondbacks’ postseason roster if they made it far enough, but the team ultimately decided against it. Nonetheless, Henry did pitch in an intrasquad game at Chase Field prior to the NLCS. That served as a launching pad for what Henry deemed a “normal” offseason.
The 26-year-old lefty, of course, would have liked to contribute to the Diamondbacks’ postseason run, but he was insistent that not being able to participate did not get him down.
“It’s as awesome as it can get,” Henry said, “seeing the team, seeing the city, seeing the organization reach heights that it hadn’t been to in a little while.
“That really brings a group of people together. So, no, it was all excitement from my part.”
Henry was one of the Diamondbacks’ more reliable starters in 2023, posting a 4.15 ERA in 17 games, covering 89 innings. He said he now feels “fully healthy.”
Entering spring training, he figures to have the upper hand in the competition for the Diamondbacks’ fifth starter spot behind Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt.
Few Diamondbacks players seemed confident in their golf swings prior to Friday’s Celebrity Golf Classic, an annual event hosted by the Diamondbacks that is aimed at raising money for military organizations. Here were some of the player’s remarks.
Said Gallen: “I’m always playing to win. My teams have not been very good when I’ve come out here. I don’t know if that’s partly on me — it probably is — but we haven’t had much success.
“I haven’t played in a month, so we’re gonna see how that goes. Most of the time, putting is usually the key in these things because, for the most part, you’re getting a good drive out there. But sinking those birdie or eagle putts is what is the separator. We just made too many pars last time.”
Said Henry: “I hit the range last night out of kind of panic mode because I haven’t swung the clubs in like six months. So, there might be some dust still on some of those clubs over there. But look, I think it’s just, I just got to go compete. It’s gonna take a little bit of grit. I’m gonna have to dig deep. But I like the odds of our group.”
Said relief pitcher Ryan Thompson: “I warned everybody when they invited me into this. I said, ‘Hey, I am no good. Do you still don’t want me to come?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, come on.’ So, I actually hit a few shots over there a little bit ago, and they were probably some of the better shots in my life. So I don’t know, maybe I need to play less? I think that’s the key.”
Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas, on which of the team’s outfielders is best at golf: “Me. That’s not saying much, though.
“I don’t think Jake [McCarthy] even has ever swung a golf club, but he — I have seen him a few times actually. He’s not very good. But we’re all not very good, so it’s okay.”
Thomas, on if pitchers would beat hitters in a round of golf: “Yeah, that’s a given. They have all the time in the world to work on their golf game. We don’t. If it was any other sport, I think the position players got ’em.”
Top photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic
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