The 6 best moments in Chase Field history

PHOENIX -- Known first as Bank One Ballpark and now Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks is just 23 years old but has seen a good bit of baseball history.

It was the first retractable roof stadium that included a grass field when it opened in 1998, and it was the only ballpark with a swimming pool located just beyond the wall in right-center field.

Here is a look at the Top 6 Moments in the ballpark's history:

1. The D-backs are World Series champions
Nov. 4, 2001
The D-backs may go on to win more World Series titles, but it will be tough to top Game 7 from 2001.

The underdogs from the desert not only rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off win, but they did it against Yankees right-hander Mariano Rivera, arguably the best postseason closer in history.

While the game will be remembered for that ninth inning -- and the Luis Gonzalez bloop single that won it -- there was a lot worth remembering. The game was started by legendary right-handers Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, with Clemens going 6 1/3 innings and Schilling 7 1/3 in his third start of the series. It also featured a dramatic moment in the top of the eighth when Randy Johnson, who had thrown 104 pitches the night before, came on in relief.

2. Opening Night
March 31, 1998
As far as how the actual game went, it was a bit of a clunker with the D-backs falling, 9-2, to the Rockies, but what makes this night so memorable was that it happened.

When Andy Benes delivered the first pitch to Mike Lansing, it was the culmination of years of lobbying by state leaders and the fulfillment of a dream for Arizonans who longed for a team to call their own.

3. Womack wins it
Oct. 14, 2001
The D-backs almost didn’t make it to the World Series in 2001 because the Cardinals put up one heck of a fight in the National League Division Series.

After Schilling and Matt Morris battled to a 1-1 tie through eight innings, it came down to the D-backs’ offense against the St. Louis bullpen in Game 5.

With runners at first and third, D-backs manager Bob Brenly put on the suicide squeeze. When Tony Womack was unable to get the bunt down, Midre Cummings was easily tagged out. Womack, though, delivered later in the at-bat with a line-drive single to left-center field to bring home Danny Bautista from second base and sent the D-backs to the NL Championship Series.

4. RJ fans 20
May 8, 2001
When Johnson took the mound for the D-backs, there was always a chance you were about to see history. His May 8, 2001 start against the Reds was one of those nights.

Johnson tied the Major League record for most strikeouts in a game with 20, yet got a no-decision thanks to woeful offensive support. Johnson allowed three hits and did not walk a batter, but the Reds scratched out a run on a Ruben Rivera RBI single in the fifth inning.

The D-backs could do little with Cincinnati starter Chris Reitsma, scoring once in the sixth. The Reds scored a pair of runs in the 11th inning, but the D-backs answered with three in the bottom half to win a wild, historic game, 4-3.

5. Bradley’s triple ignites Wild Card win
Oct. 4, 2017
The D-backs jumped out to a 6-0 lead against the Rockies in the 2017 NL Wild Card Game, but Colorado scored four in the fourth inning and another in the seventh to pull to within 6-5.

With two on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo let reliever Archie Bradley hit for himself against Pat Neshek. Bradley smoked a 2-2 pitch into the gap in left-center field to drive in a pair of runs and help secure an 11-8 win.

Bradley had become a fan favorite over the course of the 2017 season. After he slid into third base with the triple and yelled into the D-backs’ dugout, the sold-out crowd erupted. The moment was commemorated the following season with a bobblehead giveaway of Bradley that included the radio call by D-backs broadcaster Greg Schulte.

6. A million-dollar grand slam
July 11, 1999
When Jay Bell stepped to the plate against Oakland's Jimmy Haynes with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, everyone at then Bank One Ballpark knew what was at stake -- $1 million.

As part of a promotion with Shamrock Farms that year, one fan at every Sunday home game was chosen for a contest. Before the game, the fan had to pick which D-backs player would hit a grand slam that day and what inning he would hit it in.

Gylene Hoyle picked Bell and the sixth inning.

Bell knew he had been picked, as it was broadcast on the scoreboard early in the game. When Bell made the first out of the fifth inning, it seemed unlikely that Hoyle would be a winner. But in the sixth, the D-backs managed to load the bases with two outs after Womack drew a four-pitch walk. After fouling off a pair of two-strike pitches, Bell hit a homer to left field.

Usually reserved, Bell raised his right arm in excitement after the ball sailed over the fence. He later said it was the favorite moment of his career. Hoyle, meanwhile, said the homer changed her life.

"He made life easier for us," Hoyle told the Arizona Republic in 2019. "He made it so we have less stress in our lives."