Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo gets mocked by Diamondbacks after his threat

In a way, the Arizona Diamondbacks were playing for more than their fans and their state as they clinched a spot in the World Series for the first time since 2001 on Tuesday night with a Game 7 win in the National League Championship Series.

They also had the future of one of the biggest mouths in sports media on the line, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, who said Monday on his SiriusXM radio show that if Arizona won Games 6 and 7 in Philadelphia, “I will retire on the spot.”

Well, the Diamondbacks won the decisive game 4-2 and they heard you loud and clear, Russo, so much so that they made it a part of their post-game celebration, chanting “Mad Dog!” in the clubhouse as the beer flowed.

In the lead-up to the win Tuesday night, Russo posted three sweating emojis on X, and 15 minutes later, posted a gif that said “enjoy your retirement.” He retweeted several posts alluding to his retirement.

To be fair to the former WFAN host, Arizona has defeated the odds: entering the playoffs as the No. 6 seed with an 84-78 record, it took down the Milwaukee Brewers in a two-game sweep of the wild-card round, swept the Los Angels Dodgers in the NLDS and won four of the last five games after a 2-0 deficit to beat the Phillies in the NLCS.

Now, they’ll face the Texas Rangers in the World Series starting Friday.

“I’ve been wrong on Arizona from day one,” Russo said on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Monday. “I’m stunned they beat Milwaukee. I thought they’d get swept by the Dodgers. I never thought they’d even go back to Philly for a Game 6. I’ll try it one more time. I would not be stunned if they won [Monday] — I would be floored. And I’ll say this right now: if they win the next two days, and win this series in seven games, if they win, I will retire on the spot.”