D-backs Got Surprise Message From Former NFL Star Marshawn Lynch

Manager Torey Lovullo asked Lynch to give a message to the team following his BP session.

Seattle Seahawks Star Marshawn Lynch Talks to Arizona Diamondbacks

"He wanted to see 100 [MPH] and he got 100," Lovullo said. "He made some chippy contact and was super pumped up about it. But when he concluded, I asked him to speak to the team."

"He just did that for a few minutes and delivered a really, really good message to the group."

Arizona's manager summed up Lynch's message to the D-backs.

"I'll just summarize... no matter where you're at, you have an opportunity to do something really spectacular, take advantage of it. It doesn't matter if you're 10 games down or 10 games up, you go out there and play your best game and expect the best things possible."

Lovullo said he was unsure of why Lynch was present, but that he had found out a week ago he'd be coming to the desert. Lovullo had not met the former running back prior.

"I did not know him. I think he's here with [Randy Johnson], and I don't know why he's here or how he's here. I just knew last week. I heard he was on his way, and I love pro football. I love college football. He went to Cal Berkeley, so super excited to meet him," Lovullo said.

And the D-backs do certainly have just that: an opportunity. They may still sit 2.0 games out of a Wild Card appearance, but it's nothing short of remarkable that Arizona has made itself relevant in the playoff hunt despite the bevy of injuries and sell-off trades that have occurred this season.

Lovullo said his own message to the team is simple: have fun.

No, Lovullo is not patronizing a clubhouse of grown men, or abdicating the motivational duties of a manager in a home stretch where every win matters. Lovullo clarified he wants his players to have fun and play naturally, rather than playing with something to lose.

"I don't want guys to have fun losing. ... Let's go out there and prepare and win games. When we do that and we get into that mindset, that is natural and we're familiar with where we're standing.

"You can have fun with what you're doing. We're gritty, we're tough, and I talk about living in the dark cracks of the street. That's the space we love to drag you into, and I think these guys respond to that mentality," Lovullo said.

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