PHOENIX — It was a cool evening in late March when Andy Benes threw the first pitch of the first game of the first season for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Eleven-year-old Bill Irwin was sitting in the front row along the first baseline in the Bank One Ballpark as the explosion of flashbulbs was rivaled only by the explosion of fireworks above.
He and his family have held season tickets ever since.
“There's something really romantic about baseball,” Irwin explained. “It's one of my favorite sports. And now I get to pass that on to my kids who also enjoy coming.”
Season tickets at the BOB- and later at Chase Field- have been an Irwin family tradition for all 25 seasons.
“We enjoy coming here,” Irwin said. “We've sat in pretty much every different part of this baseball stadium over the years.”
The Irwin family was there when Travis Lee hit his first home run in a 9-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies that cool evening in late March of 1998, and he was there when Luis Gonzalez hit the series-winning single to give the D-backs their only championship title in their 25-year history.
The family was also there when the team struggled through a 17-game losing streak during the 2021 season. Through thick and thin, the Irwins were there.
“It really shows the love and support that the community here in Arizona has for not just us, but for all the sports teams around the Valley, said J.J. Putz, the Special Assistant to Derrick Hall, and former Relief Pitcher for the D-backs.
To celebrate the team’s 25th anniversary, the Arizona Diamondbacks have festivities, giveaways, and activities planned for the weekend of August 11-13. Nearly 60 former D-back players will attend an on-field ceremony during the D-back/Padres game on August 12.
Longtime radio announcer Greg Schulte- who announced that season 25 will be his last season behind the mic- will throw out the first pitch with the alumni behind him on the field.
The D-backs will giveaway 25th Anniversary jerseys to the first 15,000 fans through the gates at Chase Field that same day. The jerseys are styled after the inaugural jersey, with a 25th Anniversary patch on the right sleeve.
A commemorative picture book with a complete photographic timeline of the team’s history will be available for purchase in the Team Shop that weekend, as well.
“It highlights all the greatest D-back moments, it lists the players what we've done in the community; it’s really well done," said Putz.
The Irwin family will be front and center for all the festivities, as they have been for the past quarter century.
“It’s something that they'll know- my grandchildren and maybe my great-grandchildren- that will be fans of a team that was born from grassroots here in Arizona," said Irwin.
For the Irwin family, there's something special about that.
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