PHOENIX — Arizona’s most famous sports moment is back on TV. MLB Network premiered “Destined: The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks” on Thursday night, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the franchise’s World Series title, MLB.com reported.
The 90-minute film is the 50th installment in the “MLB Network Presents” series. It traces the team from its creation in the late 1990s through its Game 7 comeback against Mariano Rivera and the three-time defending champion New York Yankees.
The documentary includes archival footage and new interviews with former general manager Joe Garagiola Jr., manager Bob Brenly and players Jay Bell, Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace, Damian Miller, Reggie Sanders, Matt Williams, Tony Womack and co-MVPs Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.
“When you put the right people in the right room, there is no unachievable goal,” Schilling says in the film. “I think the 2001 season was the perfect baseball season for that team.”
The film also revisits the emotional weight of a World Series played weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, the late-inning losses at Yankee Stadium and Gonzalez’s bloop single over a drawn-in infield to win Game 7.
“It’s a reminder of what can happen when a group of players commits to something bigger than themselves,” said Paul Solga, the lead MLB Network producer on the project.
Sources: MLB.com. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: MSgt. Raheem Moore / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
