A crack of the bat and a laser to the left field gap sends Chase Field into a frenzy. "Ar-chie! Ar-chie! Ar-chie!" they chant. Diamondbacks fans let out all of their pent up energy as their star relief pitcher, Archie Bradley, just hit a two-run triple to give the team an 8-5 lead in the bottom of the 7th inning in the National League Wild Card Game. As many fans screamed I stood there, hands on my head, in a stunned silence. Did baseball's next terrifying bearded reliever really just hit a two-run triple? As a Diamondbacks fan who had never really tasted playoff baseball, I didn't know how to react. This wasn't some kind of normal experience or even a rare one. A relief pitcher had never done what Archie Bradley had just done. But he did it. And it was his moment.
There was so much more to Archie Bradley that made fans fall head over heels for him once he got in the bullpen. When Bradley was first called up to the big leagues, he threw six innings of 1-hit shutout baseball while beating Clayton Kershaw. This streak of dominance continued until, against the Rockies, he took a line-drive to the face. The resilience of Archie Bradley has been admirable ever since that day. He has fought back and, despite struggling, he found a spot in the bullpen. From there, he took off.
Archie Bradley's ability to come in and take over could not have been understated this past season. He made 63 appearances, and in those appearances he had a 1.79 ERA and 79 strikeouts. His primarily fastball-curveball combo was tearing opponents to shreds, and the fans started to take notice.
Before Archie started lighting it up this past year, people noticed a major difference about his appearance. The beard. People love the beard look. From Brian Wilson to Justin Turner, it's just true. There is something about a baseball player with a beard that's just kind of unique and the fans love it. The same held true for Archie Bradley. Calls to "bring in the beard" rang through Chase Field throughout the Diamondbacks' upstart 2017 season. Fans were not only realizing just how amazing Archie's beard looked, but that he was pitching phenomenally. He was the highlight of every game-day experience. and every fan wanted to see more of him. You can include myself in that as well. The 2018 season doesn't start for another five months and I already want to see Archie Bradley pitch again.
There's more to being the face of a team, let alone a state, than just being a fantastic player. The beard helps for sure, but there has to be something special about the person, not just the player, in order to be the face of a state. Larry Fitzgerald for example, is currently the face of Arizona. What stands out about Larry Fitzgerald is his humility to go along with being recognized as being one the best, most likable guys in football. You can definitely find attributes such as those in Archie.
He is highly connected to the Arizona community, as he takes the time to sign autographs for fans, and he even took the time to talk to me about this article. Acts of kindness such as that do not go unnoticed. It's things like being a good person and being likable that can really impact a player's popularity. To go along with that, many Diamondback players have said one thing about Bradley: He's a goofball. Archie is always the one to start pranks, to joke around, or to brighten up the locker room. Fans love seeing that from any player, especially a great one.
Now, if there's one thing people go to sporting events for, it's the energy. And does Archie Bradley provide energy? More than any baseball player I have ever seen. It's rare to find a player who can get a crowd going like Archie Bradley. It could be his electrifying intro video highlighted by Jay-Z's "Public Service Announcement."
Or it could be his intensity that shines through in every 96-98 MPH fastball he paints the corner with for a strike. But if you put it all together, you get the Archie Bradley experience. The best example of this experience was August 8th. Archie, after Jake Lamb hit a go-ahead grand slam against the rival Dodgers, came in to pitch.
He blew them away. 7 pitches and the inning was over. Afterwards, Archie screamed "This is our house! Let's go!" It was right then that Archie became my favorite player, and it had become clear that it was that way for many people in the stadium.
From this to his epic "Are you not entertained?" helmet rip-off after his triple in the Wild Card game, Archie Bradley's intensity has proven to be a defining feature of one of Arizona's best.
Once the season ended and Cardinals football became more relevant, I started wondering. Who is the next face of Arizona sports? As of right now, it's Larry Fitzgerald, and there's no disputing that. He's arguably the most talented wide receiver of all time and one of the best guys on this planet. But there's always someone up next.
The man up next is Archie Bradley. Devin Booker is great, but the Suns still have a few years to go before they even compete. Paul Goldschmidt should be this year's National League MVP, but his quiet demeanor leads to him being constantly overlooked.
Archie Bradley is passionate, goofy, a fantastic player, and he has an awesome beard.
What more could you want?
