Jordan Montgomery was one of the best MLB free agents on the market last winter. The veteran starting pitcher was great even after being traded midseason. texas rangersposting a 2.78 ERA in 11 starts for the club en route to the World Series championship. The teams Texas beat to win the World Series are: arizona diamondbacks. With Montgomery remaining on the market until spring training, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick saw an opportunity to improve the team's rotation and pushed the front office to sign Montgomery.
The 2024 MLB playoffs have been decided, and the Diamondbacks will be watching from the outside. The team was eliminated from the postseason in Monday's electric doubleheader. atlanta braves and new york mets. One Arizona team won a doubleheader in hopes of making the postseason, but the teams split and the D-backs were eliminated from the playoffs.
A year after their World Series appearance, with the Diamondbacks missing the playoffs, Kendrick appeared on local radio in Arizona and did something rarely seen from a professional sports owner. He blamed himself for signing Montgomery.
“If you want to blame someone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you're talking to someone to blame.”
D-backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick spoke about signing Montgomery in the offseason.
Full interview: https://t.co/c9zHhCcebT pic.twitter.com/4wfNmwihSX
— The Burns & Gumbo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) October 1, 2024
Here is the full transcript:
“If someone wants to blame someone, jordan montgomery When you're a Diamondback, you're talking to a man to blame.'' Kendrick told Arizona Sports. “Because I brought it. [the front office’s] Note. I pushed it. They agreed to it – it wasn't in our plans. You know when he signed, it was right at the end of spring training. And in hindsight, it was a terrible decision to invest that money in a player who performed as poorly as I did. From a talent standpoint, that's the biggest mistake this season. And the perpetrator is me. ”
Montgomery had the worst season of his career at Arizona. He started 21 games, posted a 6.23 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and allowed 149 hits in 117 innings. oh yeah.
I feel like baseball has more peaks and valleys in player performance than any other sport. Montgomery has been a reliable starting pitcher throughout his career, but everything fell apart this season. Arizona signed him to a two-year, $47 million contract with a player option for 2025. That option is worth $22.5 million next year, and he's certain to pick it up.
Can Montgomery bounce back next year? of course. Baseball is strange like that. It's very rare to hear an owner throw a player under the bus like this while simultaneously blaming himself for signing him.
