Sunday, October 28, 2001
Sanders finds home in Arizona
Diamondbacks gave former Red chance to play
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PHOENIX — It was a Reds connection that got Reggie Sanders to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Sanders was looking for a team in the offseason. The San Francisco Giants were offering the most money.
But after Sanders visited the Arizona Diamondbacks, he got a call.
“It was Mo Man — Mike Morgan — he said, "Reggie, we need you to come here. If you come, we'll be (in the World Series),'” Sanders said.
Sanders knew Morgan from the Reds. They played together in 1996 and '97. Arizona is Morgan's 13th stop on his magical baseball tour, so he knows a good thing when he sees it.
Sanders signed Jan.11. Ten months later, he's playing in his first World Series.
“I'm glad to finally be here,” Sanders said. “It's been a long journey. It's been a learned journey.”
Sanders was one of the pieces the Diamondbacks added to help them get over the top. He has hit only .263. But he hit a career-high 33 home runs and drove in 90 runs. He was second on the team to Luis Gonzalez in both homers and RBI.
“Reggie's been huge,” Arizona manager Bob Brenly. said. “He's helped us in a lot of ways. His defense in right field has been tremendous. The speed he has gives us dimension to our offense.”
Sanders, 33, came up in the Reds organization. His first year with the big club was 1991, the year after the Reds won the World Series.
“Just missed it,” he said.
Sanders' breakout year was 1995. He hit .306 with 28 home runs, 99 RBI and 36 stolen bases. The Reds made it to the National League Championship Series, but lost in four games to Atlanta.
“Just missed again,” he said. “That's why it's so nice to finally be here.”
The Diamondbacks are Sanders' fourth club in four years. He went from Cincinnati to San Diego in the Greg Vaughn trade in 1999. Reds fans weren't heartbroken to see Sanders go.
His play had slipped — he hit .268 with 14 homers and 59 RBI in '98 — and he was continually injured.
He recovered to have a good year with San Diego (.285, 26 homers, 72 RBI), but the Padres traded him to Atlanta in a six-player after the 2000 season.
The year in Atlanta was probably the worst of his career. He hit a career-low .232 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI in 103 games.
Not a lot of teams came calling.
The Giants were one, but they couldn't guarantee Sanders an every-day spot. The Diamondbacks could.
“That was the big thing,” Sanders said. “Here, I was going to get to play right field. The Giants were looking at some other people.”
Sanders began the season on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. It was the 12th time in his career he was on the DL.
But he's been healthy since, and he has produced.
Sanders was very good late in the season, hitting .308 with 10 homers and 26 RBI in his last 35 games, as the D'backs held off the San Francisco Giants.
“Down the stretch, he put up the kind of numbers we expected of him,” Brenly said. “He was a nice complement to the other players we have.”
Sanders signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal so there's no guarantee he'll return to Arizona.
“I'd like to come back definitely,” he said. “I love it here.”
That's what getting to the World Series will do for you.
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Sanders finds home in Arizona
