Antonio Manuel Diaz (born January 23, 1977) is a Dominican

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 * Coac ...

Career

Diaz was raised in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He received multiple professional contract offers as a teenager but, on the advice of his youth coach,

Manny Mota Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo, more commonly known as Manny Mota (born February 18, 1938), is a Dominican Republic, Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montr ...

, he emigrated to the United States at 18 to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

instead. He started his college baseball career at

Gulf Coast State College Gulf Coast State College is a public college in Panama City, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and offers the Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Science degree, certificates, and as of 2011, bachelor's degrees. History The ...

before moving to

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

where he played for the

FIU Panthers baseball : ''For information on all Florida International University sports, see FIU Panthers'' The FIU Panthers baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Florida International University in University Park, Florida, United States. The ...

team. According to coach Danny Price, he was a professional prospect until suffering an arm injury. After his college career, a former teammate recommended him as a baseball coach to the Colorado Rockies who were looking specifically for bilingual coaches. He graduated from

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in marketing. He served as the manager for the baseball team at G. Holmes Braddock High School in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Diaz served as the hitting coach for the

Casper Ghosts Casper (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics, earlier CASPer or "CMSENS") is an admissions test developed by Harold Reiter and Kelly Dore. It was made for the McMaster University's Program for Educational Research and De ...

from 2001 through 2006, taking over as their

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

in 2007. The Rockies hired Diaz as their major league first base coach before the 2017 season. After the 2018 season, the Twins hired Diaz as their third base coach, replacing Gene Glynn. He transitioned to the assistant bench coach role in 2022. On October 2, 2024, Diaz and the Twins parted ways. On April 15, 2025 it was announced that Diaz would be the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

for the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

of the

MLB Draft League The MLB Draft League is a baseball league that began play in 2021. Created by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ''Prep Baseball Report'' (PBR), the league operates a split-season format of 80 games with a hybrid amateur–professional structure: f ...

for their upcoming 2025 season.

Personal life

Diaz has two children. He and his wife, Lauren live in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

. His father, Manuel, was shot to death in a mugging in Santo Domingo at 73 years old a few years before Diaz's first Major League coaching job.

References

External links

1977 births Living people Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches Dominican Republic baseball coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers FIU Panthers baseball players Florida International University alumni Gulf Coast State Commodores baseball players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Baseball players from Santo Domingo Dominican Republic expatriate baseball people in the United States {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-bio-stub