Michael Anthony Diaz (born April 15, 1960) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played all or part of four seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

between 1983 and 1988, for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He also played four seasons in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) from 1989 to 1992. After starting his career as a catcher, he split his time about equally between first base and the outfield. He was traded along with Bill Campbell from the Cubs to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

for

Gary Matthews Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. (born July 5, 1950), nicknamed "Sarge", is an American former professional baseball left fielder, who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). After his playing days, Matthews was a color commentator for Phil ...

, Bob Dernier and

Porfi Altamirano Porfirio Altamirano Ramírez (born May 17, 1952), nicknamed "El Guajiro", is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball right-handed middle relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1982–83) and ...

on March 27, 1984. A fan favorite in Pittsburgh, he earned the nickname "Rambo" due to his prodigious power & Stallone-esque physique. He even appeared on his own "Rambo" poster with the proceeds going to Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital. Following his major league career, he played four seasons in Japan, from 1989 until 1992, for the

Lotte Orions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific League in as the Mainichi Ori ...

(who in 1992 became the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

). He was nicknamed "Rambo-san" there due to a perceived resemblance to

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

.Japan Baseball Daily foreign batters page, D through F
In 1990, he became the first foreign player to catch a game in NPB in 12 years.

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1960 births American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from San Francisco Chiba Lotte Marines players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Geneva Cubs players Gulf Coast Cubs players Hawaii Islanders players Iowa Cubs players Living people Lotte Orions players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Midland Cubs players Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Quad Cities Cubs players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-outfielder-1960s-stub