Is Michael Phelps Becoming the Jack Nicholson of the Arizona Diamondbacks?

Spike Lee and the New York Knicks. Jack Nicholson and the Los Angeles Lakers. Jerry Seinfeld and the New York Mets.

Michael Phelps and the…Arizona Diamondbacks?

Throughout professional sports history, there have been celebrities who have been attached to teams in a way that, in some cases, becomes as prominent as the career that made them famous in the first place.

And Michael Phelps, a baseball fanatic (and lifelong Baltimore Orioles fan), has been a frequent figure attached to the Arizona Diamondbacks during their run to the World Series that came to an end on Wednesday night.

After throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies, Phelps was featured in the Fox pre-game intro

You heard @MichaelPhelps, welcome to Game 5 of the 2023 World Series!

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/2H21prmOUd

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 2, 2023

While Phelps is becoming more-and-more connected with the Diamondbacks in his adopted hometown of Phoenix, he has so far not been a good luck charm. In his first pitch game, the Diamondbacks lost 6-1, and in Game 5 of the World Series, they lost 5-0.

But the team’s stadium, Chase Field, is famous for its outfield pool suite, so the tie-in makes sense in more ways than one.

His childhood team, the Baltimore Orioles, did have the best record in the American League this season before an early exit from the playoffs. With a young Diamondbacks team returning the core of its roster (albeit after a red hot October that pushed them far deeper than expected in the playoffs), it’s conceivable that the Orioles and the Diamondbacks will face off in the World Series in coming years.

That would be Phelps’ moment to shine (or pick a side). The Submarine Series? The Snorkel Series? The Streamline Series? The possibilities are endless.