I am sure that by the end of this article, you are bound to learn something. Maybe right away because if you didn’t know, your favorite captain used to play ball at the highest level…
In 8 major league seasons, Lovullo played in 303 games, hit 15 home runs, had 60 RBI, and had a career high of . 636. I’m sure he’ll be the first to tell you his numbers haven’t been great, but hey, even making it to the big leagues is an accomplishment in itself. His best season came in 1996 with the Oakland A’s where he played in 65 games and finished the season with 701 OPS. Unfortunately, Lovullo has never been part of a World Series run as a player…
After the 2010 season, the Blue Jays hired Lovolo to take over the 1B coaching duties. For Lovullo, this was his first major league job since 1999…
Technically, Torre only spent two seasons with the Jays (2011 and 2012). In the 2011 season, the Blue Jays went 81-81, just missing the playoffs. That season, outfielder Jose Bautista recorded a 1.056 OPS which was first in baseball. Bautista also had bases in the .447 clip which means he and Lovullo had many meetings at first base. The ball club declined in the final and the following season to Lofollow in Toronto. In 2012, the Blue Jays finished 73-89 with an approximate road record of 32-49. That season, Edwin Encarnacion finished fifth in HR and RBIs. In the two seasons that Lovolo was there, he saw two of the best outfielders in baseball history…
Lovullo must be a part of some very successful teams in Boston. In Torey’s first year (2013) with the Red Sox, the team went 97-65 in the regular season and had a deep post-season run that led to a defeat by the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Lovolo’s first ever world championship, he was rewarded with a ring (world championship ring)…
The next season in 2014, the Red Sox fell off the face of the earth. After a win-it-all season, the Red Sox finished with a painful record of 71-91. Boston that season was plagued by poor pitching and mediocre hitting, and it was a season they would quickly try to forget. Fast forward a year and the Red Sox have improved quite a bit. In 2015, the Red Sox finished the season 78-84. 7 wins more than in the 2014 season but it wasn’t what Sox fans were hoping for. Lovullo’s final year in the Red Sox organization was just as successful as 2013. In 2016, the Red Sox finished 93-69, winning the AL East. Unfortunately, they lost to the Cleveland Indians in the AL Division Series, and that was the last they saw of Lovullo in Boston…
This brings us to the happy ending of the story. Tori Lovolo returns home to Arizona. On October 16, 2016, Mike Hazen was named the new GM of the Diamondbacks. Soon after, Hazen appointed Lofolo as manager of the football club. Going into the 2017 season Lovolo will now lead the team on the field…
In Torre’s first season with Arizona, the team finished the season with a 93-69 record and clinched a spot in the playoffs. The team then won its one and only wildcard game against the Colorado Rockies. Unfortunately, the D-Backs lost in the Next Round of the Playoffs (NLDS) to the LA Dodgers who would go to the World Series but lost in 7 games to the Houston Astros. It was later discovered that the Houston Astros found unorthodox ways to cheat that season, so in my book, the Dodgers deserved that World Series…
Since the successful 2017 season, things have not been going well for Arizona. 2017 marked the last time the D-Backs performed in the postseason; And from 2018-2022, the Diamondbacks have a record of 318-390. Not a great record by any means. Blame it on whoever you want, the front office, the lack of talent, the manager Torey Lovolo himself, but the gains haven’t materialized over the past few years. With a revamped team, mixed young and old heading into 2023, let’s see if Lovolo and the boys can turn things around in sunny Arizona…