Unquestionably, the “Answerbacks” was one of my favorite nicknames for the 2023 Diamondbacks. It belied both the underdog nature of the team and the players’ seemingly endless ability to believe in themselves and begin or extend a rally no matter the situation. Alek Thomas’ eighth inning homer (pictured above) against the Phillies in the NLCS exemplified that like no other single play for me and still lives rent free in my head because of its improbability and game impact. In fact, based on Baseball Reference’s Championship Win Probability Added (cWPA), which ranks each play based on its likelihood for helping a given team win a World Series, Thomas’ home run was the fifth-most impactful play during the team’s improbable run last year and the seventh-most impactful in the entire playoffs.
Thursday-ish Tidbits: Clutching Snakes
