Einar Antonio Díaz (born December 28, 1972) is a Panamanian

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

currently a coach for the AAA

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

. Díaz played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, Texas Rangers,

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

from 1996 through 2006.

Playing career

Díaz was called up in by the

to back up then-starting catcher

Sandy Alomar Jr. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Velázquez Jr. (, ; born June 18, 1966) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a member of the Cleve ...

He played sparingly from 1996-, and in he got his first starting job with the Indians due to an injury to Alomar. From -, 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 Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...

, who left for free agency. This was the last starting job Díaz would see. He continued his career as a backup catcher with the

in , the

in , and the minor league

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

in . Díaz made a pitching appearance for the Bisons on June 4, 2006, and was the losing

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

of record that game

Díaz never played with the Indians in his second stint with the organization in 2006. On August 12, 2006, he was traded to the

(as the Dodgers were in need of another backup catcher after

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 spring training. On June 30, 2007, while scoring from

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

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

Diaz retired at the end of the 2007 season. He was invited to the

spring training camp in Winter Haven in as a special assistant for catchers, and later became a field coach for the Gulf Coast Orioles in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

minor league system. On January 12, , the Orioles named him the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the Rookie League

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the ...

. He was previously the batting coach for the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

. The Orioles promoted Diaz to assistant hitting coach on April 1, 2013. The entire coaching staff was fired after the 2018 season. Diaz was named as a coach for the AAA

for the 2019 season.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Baseball Reference (Minor and Winter Leagues)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Einar 1972 births Living people Baltimore Orioles coaches Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Canton-Akron Indians players Cardenales de Lara players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cleveland Indians players Columbus Red Stixx players Indianapolis Indians players Kinston Indians players Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Dodgers players Lynchburg Hillcats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Panama Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Canada People from Chiriquí Province St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players