Panamanian baseball player and coach (born 1972)
Baseball player
Einar Antonio Diaz
(born December 28, 1972) is a Panamanian
professional baseball
player and
coach
currently a coach for the AAA
Gwinnett Stripers
. Diaz played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) as a
catcher
for the
Cleveland Indians
,
Texas Rangers
,
Montreal Expos
,
St. Louis Cardinals
, and
Los Angeles Dodgers
from 1996 through 2006.
Playing career
[
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]
Diaz was called up in
1996
by the
Cleveland Indians
to back up then-starting catcher
Sandy Alomar Jr.
He played sparingly from 1996-
1998
, and in
1999
he got his first starting job with the Indians due to an injury to Alomar. From
2001
-
2002
, Diaz was the primary starting catcher for the Cleveland Indians. Following the 2002 season, he was traded to the
Texas Rangers
to replace All-Star catcher
Ivan Rodriguez
, who left for free agency. This was the last starting job Diaz would see. He continued his career as a backup catcher with the
Montreal Expos
in
2004
, the
St. Louis Cardinals
in
2005
, and the minor league
Buffalo Bisons
in
2006
.
Diaz made a pitching appearance for the Bisons on June 4, 2006, and was the
losing
pitcher
of record that game.
[1]
Diaz never played with the Indians in his second stint with the organization in 2006. On August 12, 2006, he was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
(as the Dodgers were in need of another backup catcher after
Sandy Alomar Jr.
was traded). Diaz would only compile 3
at-bats
as a Dodger, collecting 2
hits
in those 3 at-bats.
At the conclusion of the 2006 season, Diaz signed a minor league contract with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
and was assigned to their
Indianapolis
Triple-A club at the end of
2007
spring training
. On June 30, 2007, while scoring from
third
on a
Brad Eldred
multiple
RBI
hit, Diaz suffered a total rupture of his patellar tendon when he crossed home plate, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.
Coaching career
[
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]
Diaz retired at the end of the 2007 season. He was invited to the
Cleveland Indians
spring training camp in Winter Haven in
2008
as a special assistant for catchers, and later became a field coach for the
Gulf Coast Orioles
in the
Baltimore Orioles
minor league system. On January 12,
2009
, the Orioles named him the
manager
of the Rookie League
Bluefield Orioles
.
[1]
He was previously the batting coach for the
Delmarva Shorebirds
. The Orioles promoted Diaz to assistant hitting coach on April 1, 2013.
[2]
The entire coaching staff was fired after the 2018 season.
Diaz was named as a coach for the AAA
Gwinnett Stripers
for the 2019 season.
[3]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]