Point Blanco: He told it like it was
BOB MCMANAMAN
Gregor Blanco had a gut feeling about what had gone wrong with the Diamondbacks by spending the past five years playing against them as a member of the San Francisco Giants. To put it bluntly, the veteran outfielder thought Diamondbacks players lacked unity and leadership and felt they also might be a little selfish and spoiled.
Then he signed with them in January of this year and discovered everything he had surmised about them was true.
“I was like, ‘Something’s missing on that team,’ ” Blanco told azcentral sports on Tuesday as the Diamondbacks opened a three-game series See D-BACKS, Page 5C
against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. “When I got to spring training, I started to notice myself what was missing. And I think what was missing was the actual love for the game and the passion to come in here every single day, play as a unit, and win games without being individuals.
“You know, win without worrying about individual stats, without worrying about the 0 for 4s, and we win and you’re not being happy about it. So I started talking to players about that. I was like, ‘Hey, it’s spring training, let’s start playing for each other. I want to play for you. I want you to play for me.’ Stuff like that. Then all of a sudden, everybody starting fitting in.”
It was a brave and bold gesture by a new face who hadn’t sweat any of the same blood as his teammates, those of whom haven’t enjoyed a winning season in six long years and were now on their third different manager in Torey Lovullo.
And in walks a cocky Venezuelan thinking he can call out almost an entire roster and actually make them listen without risk of being stabbed in the back himself?
Like many of the magical, mysterious and unexplainable moments that have occurred with this team in 2017, Blanco’s personal intervention was like a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. Owner of two World Series rings with the Giants, he told it like it was, didn’t mince words, and said if they wanted to be champions to follow his lead.
Fellow veteran new faces such as utility man Daniel Descalso and catchers Jeff Mathis and Chris Iannetta began spreading the same message, but it was Blanco who broke the silence and said what was needed to be said.
It’s one of the reasons why the Diamondbacks are off to their best start in franchise history and could be in the middle of something incredibly special.
“It’s kind of like when he says something, everyone locks onto it and you pay attention,” Lovullo said. “We all know that he’s won a couple World Series in San Francisco. We all play for that. We play for that special feeling. We play for that ring and we know that he’s got a couple of them.
“So when he says this is how it should be done, you stop and you pay attention to him. He doesn’t abuse that. He says things that are very meaningful. And he has that leadership quality that you can’t find in every player.”
Blanco, who is getting regular starts in center field and most of his at-bats in the leadoff role as A.J. Pollock continues to rehab from groin and quad issues, said the Diamondbacks’ problems the past two or three years weren’t unique to baseball. What happened to them, he said, can be a common trap that many teams have fallen into over the years.
“When you’re young and coming up from the minors, you want to play as an individual, put up numbers and have money and stuff like that,” he said. “You’re not worrying about the group. You forget about what being a team means and how to be successful and how to win. Those were the things I think we were missing as a team, but now we understand it.”
Paul Goldschmidt said Blanco’s leadership has been felt since before the team even reported to spring training, adding, “Guys have really listened to what he’s had to say, both positive and negative, and have tried to learn from that.”
So far, so good, but Blanco thinks the Diamondbacks have yet to reach their full potential. He sees bigger things in store lying ahead.
“I think we can get even better,” he said. “When it comes to the trade deadline, people start talking about how we could add players that can make our club even better. I’m loving that. Right now, we’re really having fun. We’re grinding and finding a way to win ballgames day in and day out. We’re doing the little things and taking care of business.
“But the great thing is, I believe we can even get better. I have no doubts about that at all.”
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Wednesday night between 7-9 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.