Whether directly his fault or not, veteran pitching coach Brent Strom was let go after the Arizona Diamondbacks posted one of the worst team ERAs in baseball. The struggles were particularly evident in September, when no team had a worse ERA than Arizona. The combination of underperforming starters and an inconsistent bullpen derailed the Diamondbacks’ postseason hopes, leading to their narrow miss of the final Wild Card spot.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!After learning of his dismissal, Strom kept his response brief in a text to The Athletic, saying, “Pitching held this team back this year. Did my best. End of story.” He declined to comment further, according to Noah Furtado.
Strom wasn’t the only casualty, as the Diamondbacks also parted ways with assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson and bullpen coach Mike Fetters.
Brent Strom, reportedly the most surprised by his dismissal, still had one year left on his contract. Strom, who joined the Diamondbacks in 2022 after a successful stint with the Houston Astros from 2014-2021, was instrumental in developing modern-day aces like Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, and Zack Greinke. After initially announcing his retirement in 2021, Strom joined Arizona with plans to settle into retirement but found himself back in the game.
At 75, Strom’s future remains uncertain. He told Jack Sommers of Arizona Diamondbacks SI, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and when it comes to the pitching, that’s me.” He also admitted that his relationships with some of the starting pitchers weren’t as strong as he would have liked this season.
