This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Like a lot of people in the state of Arizona, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was captivated by Arizona State University’s berth in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff.
But Lovullo was particularly intrigued by ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham and the culture the 34-year-old has built with the Sun Devils. So after tracking down Dillingham’s phone number, Lovullo invited him to address the Diamondbacks on Monday.
“He asked, ‘What do you want me to talk about?’” Lovullo said. “I told him what's been inspiring me lately and shared that with him -- a little screenshot of my notes that I've been taking, some things that I’ve said. And he said, 'Got it.' And then he nailed his own message. It was definitely his core beliefs that were overlapped with mine.”
Dillingham spoke for around 20 minutes, and players said afterward that he had their complete attention.
Zac Gallen, who made his first start this spring in Monday's 4-3 win over the Guardians, had met Dillingham last week at a golf outing.
"He was really good,” Gallen said. “I think with his age and what they’ve done, he’s very relatable. We’ve had some speakers in here that have been good but [were] maybe a little bit unrelatable. I know it’s harder sometimes to cross sports, but I think his message and the culture they’re building over there translates directly to what we’re trying to do here."
Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly (who like Dillingham is a Sun Devil alum) has known the ASU head coach for close to 15 years. Their wives were friends in college as well.
“Awesome,” Kelly said. “There’s a reason why the program is doing as well as it is. I think what you saw is the main reason. The energy he brings and the message he gave to us … there’s no wonder why they’re doing as well as they are.”
Jake McCarthy, who was a well-regarded football player in high school and turned down scholarship offers to pursue his career in baseball, agreed with Kelly’s assessment.
“It was really cool,” McCarthy said. “Obviously, we’ve seen the track record with ASU’s program, and he’s a good motivational speaker too. He brought up a lot of good points about culture and being a good teammate and stuff like that. It was definitely a cool morning.”
In his two seasons as ASU's head coach, Dillingham has built a culture based on competition (something that Lovullo stresses as well), and he picked up on that as he sat in on some of the D-backs' morning staff meetings.
“I think the culture here is really good,” Dillingham said. “The facilities here are obviously awesome. You could tell the guys are all in it together -- all here early and on time -- the respect level they have for Torey. I mean, Torey is as good as it gets. I think we have a lot of the same belief in terms of team building and culture, so getting to pick his brain was awesome.”
Dillingham got more than he bargained for Monday, as Lovullo said he “showed off his new little friendship” by pulling Dillingham into his morning meeting with his coaching staff.
Then, when Dillingham was done speaking to the team, the two went into Lovullo’s office and spent another two hours talking. D-backs general manager Mike Hazen joined the discussion, along with assistant GM Mike Fitzgerald and managing general partner Ken Kendrick.
“I was probably the worst manager in baseball [today],” Lovullo said. “I didn’t go out and watch our players work out, because I had Kenny Dillingham in my office. We really hammered away at some really, really deep stuff that I’ll take with me. I was really excited about that, so I didn't waste that opportunity to get to know him a little bit. He made us better than [we were before] he walked in this building.”