On Wednesday, former long-time Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball in a statement on his Instagram account.
Peralta, 38, was with the D-backs through parts of nine major league seasons. Initially drafted as a pitcher, Peralta found new life as a hitter in independent ball before Arizona took a chance on him. That investment led to 15.7 WAR and an .803 OPS before he was traded to the Rays mid-2022.
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In a recent interview with Arizona Sports 98.7’s Burns & Gambo Show, Peralta opened up on his career, and what the Diamondbacks and their fans meant to him.
Former Arizona Diamondback David Peralta Opens Up on Career
Peralta spoke lovingly of the organization that allowed him to grow into a major league success story.
“[This organization] means everything. It means everything,” he said. “The D-backs, I [don’t] even have a word to describe how grateful I am, because they gave me the opportunity to make my dream come true. They trust me. They believe in me. And they gave me the chance to show that I can play in the big leagues. And they take care of me. They take care of my family.”
Fans may very well recall comments made by Peralta about the state of the Chase Field home crowd, once the outfielder had departed for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Peralta did not hold back the love for the Arizona fanbase in his reflection, however.
“The fans loved me since the first day. And I was the same thing. I love D-backs fans. They’re always going to be in my heart. And the same thing with the D-backs organization. … Out of 30 teams in MLB, D-backs was, ‘Okay, we’re going to give this shot to David and see what he got.’ That’s all I needed, one chance. And they gave it to me. And I can’t be enough thankful for that.”
Notably, Peralta was a member of the Dodgers the very year Arizona Swept LA out of the NLDS in 2023. Though the outfielder said he was not “happy” about being booted from the playoffs, he have an ever-so-slightly fond reaction to his former team’s success.
“I’m not going to say I was happy, because… they killed us in the first round… I was playing with the Dodgers and I was like, ‘You guys killed us.’ At the same time, I was like… ‘I can be happy for that,’ he said.
“I know all the hard work and everything, the dedication that organization put on to get to that moment. And when everything was over that year, I was like, ‘Well deserved,'” Peralta said. “They worked. They did the right thing. And they worked better than us, [when] I was with the Dodgers.
“I was like, ‘That was great. That was great for them.'”