Einar Antonio Díaz (born December 28, 1972) is a Panamanian professional baseball player and coach currently a coach for the AAA Gwinnett Stripers. Díaz 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.
| Einar Díaz | |
|---|---|
 Díaz with the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: December 28, 1972 Chiriquí Province, Panama | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1996, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 16, 2006, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .254 |
| Home runs | 21 |
| Runs batted in | 202 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Playing career
editDíaz 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, Díaz 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 Iván Rodríguez, who left for free agency. This was the last starting job Díaz 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.
Díaz made a pitching appearance for the Bisons on June 4, 2006, and was the losing pitcher of record that game. [1]
Díaz 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). Díaz would only compile 3 at-bats as a Dodger, collecting 2 hits in those 3 at-bats.
At the conclusion of the 2006 season, Díaz 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, Díaz suffered a total rupture of his patellar tendon when he crossed home plate, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.
Coaching career
editDiaz 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
edit- ^ "Orioles name Minor League managers, coaches and staff". MLB.com: Official Info. January 12, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Ghiroli, Brittany (April 1, 2013). "Orioles add Diaz to coaching staff". orioles.com: News. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ "Braves announce minor league staffs, including a trio of new coaches for Gwinnett Stripers". Gwinnett Daily Post. January 2, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Retrosheet, or Baseball Reference (Minor and Winter Leagues)