They finished the season 33 games behind the National League Champion San Diego Padres with a record of 65–97, last in the division.

Jeff Suppan was the last player from the inaugural team still active in Major League Baseball when he retired in 2012.

The two expansion teams set to debut in 1998, the Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, had two full seasons to establish scouting and player development systems and were permitted to participate fully in the 1996 and 1997 Major League Baseball drafts.

Among the players selected and signed by Arizona from those drafts were pitchers Brad Penny (fifth round, 1996) and Casey Fossum (seventh, 1996); infielders Alex Cintrón (36th, 1997), Jack Cust (first, 1997) and Junior Spivey (36th round, 1996); and outfielders Ron Calloway (eighth, 1997) and Jason Conti (32nd, 1996).

Visalia affiliation shared with Detroit Tigers[7] LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: High Desert[7]