Injuries poisoned the Diamondbacks’ 2014, so their last-place finish did not necessarily represent the true talent level of the team. That didn’t stop new Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa from starting the postseason early by cleaning house. GM Kevin Towers was fired and replaced by Dave Stewart, who played for LaRussa on the late-80s/early-90s A’s. Manager Kirk Gibson and bench coach Alan Trammell were fired the day after Stewart was hired and Stewart later hired A’s bench coach Chip Hale to manage the team for 2015.
