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Edwin Orlando Díaz Laboy (born March 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
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 ...
for the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
of
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). He previously played for the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
. Within two months of his MLB debut, Díaz broke the Mariners' record for consecutive strikeouts and was named the team's closer. After saving 19 games, he finished fifth in the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
(AL) Rookie of the Year voting. In 2018, he recorded 57 saves to lead the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
, was an All-Star, and was named
AL Reliever of the Year Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honors its best relief pitchers in the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. The awa ...
. The Mariners traded him to the Mets after the season, where he earned his second All-Star honor during the 2022 season.


Early life

Díaz grew up in the Naguabo neighborhood in Naguabo, Puerto Rico. He started playing baseball around age 7, playing mostly as a
center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
. While growing up in Puerto Rico, Díaz played as an outfielder during his youth along players like
Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, who selected him first overall in the ...
and
José Berríos José Orlando Berríos (born May 27, 1994), nicknamed "La Makina" (Spanish for "The Machine"), is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Minnesota Twins, ...
. At the insistence of his father, he reluctantly tried pitching as a teenager.


Professional career


Minor leagues (2012–2016)

The
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
selected Díaz in the third round, with the 98th overall pick, of the
2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...
out of Caguas Military Academy in
Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...
. He made his professional debut that season for the
Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...
. In nine games (one start) he went 2–1 with a 5.21
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) with 20
strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
in 19 innings. In 2013, he pitched for the
Pulaski Mariners Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in th ...
. In 13 starts, he went 5–2 with a 1.43 ERA and 79 strikeouts over 69 innings. Prior to the 2014 season, Díaz was named the Mariners fifth best prospect by
Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
. He spent the season with the
Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Lea ...
and was co-selected the organization's minor league Starting Pitcher of the Year along Jordan Pries. In 2015, Díaz played for the
Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...
and
Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...
. That year, he won the recognition of minor league Starting Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season. Díaz started 2016 with Jackson as a starting pitcher and was moved to the bullpen after six starts.


Seattle Mariners


2016

Díaz was called up to the major leagues for the first time on June 4, 2016. Between June 28 and July 3, he recorded ten consecutive outs via strikeout, tying a franchise record set in 1997. On July 6, 2016, Díaz broke the record with his 11th consecutive out via strikeout. Between July 19 and 22, 2016, he recorded 8 consecutive strikeouts, tying him for second place with four different American League pitchers (
Doug Fister Douglas Wildes Fister (born February 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Tex ...
set the AL record, with 9, on September 27, 2012). On August 1, 2016, Díaz replaced
Steve Cishek Steven R. Cishek () (born June 18, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Cishek played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida / Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Chic ...
as the Mariners' closer. He recorded the first save of his career the following day, in a 5–4 win over the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
, in which he struck out the side. By reaching his 50th strikeout in only 25 and a third innings, Díaz became the first pitcher to do so in at least 123 years.


2018: All-Star season

Owning a 2.25 ERA, 36 saves, and 76 strikeouts in 48 innings, Díaz was named to the 2018 All-Star Game, his first All-Star appearance. Díaz became the holder of the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
Club Record for saves before the All-Star Break, finishing with 36 saves before the break. The previous club record was 29 saves by
Kazuhiro Sasaki Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木 主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo W ...
in the 2001 season. In the All-Star Game, Díaz was the
winning pitcher Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...
even though he also had a blown save in the process as the NL team tied the game in the 9th inning. He ended up with two strikeouts and two earned runs including a home run in one inning pitched. Díaz received the AL Reliever of the Month Award for April, June, and July. On August 10, Díaz recorded his 44th save, thus breaking the record for most saves by a Puerto Rican MLB player. Roberto Hernández had 43 in 1999. With a win on August 12 against the Houston Astros, the Mariners were 26–0 when Díaz was handed a one-run lead. In those games Díaz had 24 saves, a 0.68 ERA, 26.1 IP, 13 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, and 49 strikeouts. Also, with the save on August 12 (his 46th of the season), Díaz became the first pitcher to record four saves in a single series since 2004 as Seattle completed a four-game sweep of the Astros. Díaz's 24 saves when entering a game with a one-run lead broke the record for most in a season, which had been 23, set by Francisco Rodríguez for the Angels of Anaheim in 2008. His save number 46 of the season was part of 27 straight saves; he had a 0.39 ERA in games that he had saved in the 2018 season. On August 24, Díaz notched his 49th save of the season, setting a Mariners single-season record when he closed out a 6–3 win over the
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
. The previous Mariners franchise single-season saves record was 48, by
Fernando Rodney Fernando Rodney (born March 18, 1977) is a Dominican–American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Ta ...
in the 2014 season. On August 25, 2018 Díaz became the youngest pitcher to collect 50 saves in a season when he closed a 4–3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 50 saves meant that Seattle manager Scott Servais had to follow through on a bet and get a haircut like that of Díaz. Díaz, who usually keeps the ball after each of his saves, gave Saturday's to Servais in honor of the bet. On October 27, Díaz was awarded the
AL Reliever of the Year Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honors its best relief pitchers in the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. The awa ...
award. He finished the 2018 season with 57 saves (leading the major leagues) and 65 games finished to go with a 1.96 ERA, 124 strikeouts, and a 0.79 WHIP in innings. His 57 saves tied with
Bobby Thigpen Robert Thomas "Bobby" Thigpen (born July 17, 1963) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is noted for setting the major league record of 57 saves during the season, which has since been broken by former Los Angeles Angels of An ...
for the second-highest single-season saves total of all-time.


New York Mets

On December 3, 2018, the Mariners traded Díaz,
Robinson Canó Robinson José Canó Mercedes (; born October 22, 1982) is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman who is currently a free agent. He previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Dieg ...
, and $20 million to the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
for
Jay Bruce Jay Allen Bruce (born April 3, 1987) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and New Y ...
,
Jarred Kelenic Jarred Robert Kelenic ( ; born July 16, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kelenic was drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft by the New York Mets and was trad ...
,
Anthony Swarzak Anthony Ray Swarzak (born September 10, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Chica ...
,
Gerson Bautista Gerson Bautista (born May 31, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the New York Mets in 2018 and also played for the Seattle Mariners ...
, and
Justin Dunn Justin Warren Dunn (born September 22, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners. Dunn played college baseball at Boston ...
. He recorded his first save as a Met on Opening Day against the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
. In the first half of the 2019 season, Díaz surrendered more than twice as many hits per nine innings as in the 2018 season and his
ERA+ An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...
dropped from 210 in 2018 to 74 in the first half of the 2019 campaign. Writing for ''
Deadspin ''Deadspin'' is a sports blog founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and based in Chicago. Previously owned by Gawker Media and Univision Communications, it is currently owned by G/O Media. ''Deadspin'' posted daily previews, recaps, and commentaries of ...
'', David Roth described Díaz's downturn as "arguably the most dramatic and most surprising" of any player's collapse to that point in the
2019 MLB season The 2019 Major League Baseball season began on March 20, while the regular season ended on September 29. It was the 150th anniversary of professional baseball, dating back to the 1869 foundation of the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The postseason beg ...
. On September 26, 2019, Díaz allowed his 15th ninth-inning home run of the season, the most 9th innings home runs given up by a single pitcher in a single season in Major League history. He finished the season with 58 innings pitched, 26 saves, and an ERA of 5.59. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Díaz converted six of ten save opportunities and recorded a 1.75 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 14 walks in innings. On April 29,
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, Díaz pitched in relief in a combined
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
, pitching the final inning and earning the save. On June 12, he struck out five batters. Díaz earned NL Reliever of the Month honors in June, allowing one run in innings, converting all five save opportunities and allowing a 0.93 WHIP. On July 10, 2022, Díaz was named an All-Star for the second time in his career. He entered the All-Star break with 20 saves in 23 save opportunities and a 1.69 ERA. He struck out 75 of the 145 batters he faced in the first half of the season. Díaz closed out the ninth inning of a 1–0 win versus Philadelphia on August 13 to earn his 200th career save, the sixth active player to do so. He issued two walks during that outing, ending a streak of 50 batters faced without a walk. On November 9, 2022, Díaz signed a 5-year contract with the Mets worth $102 million, the most valuable contract ever signed by a relief pitcher. On December 6, 2022, Díaz was named the 2022
Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego P ...
National League Reliever of the Year. He also made the All-MLB First Team.


International play

Díaz played as a relief pitcher, more specifically as a closer for the
Puerto Rican national team Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...
in the
2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...
where he won a silver medal. He had 2 saves at the tournament: one against Dominican Republic and another against United States, both in the second round. In the semifinal game against
the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, he won the game as Puerto Rico scored in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 4–3 win.


Pitching style

Díaz throws three pitches. His most common pitch is a hard
four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ca ...
that has averaged in his first three seasons in MLB. His other pitches are a
slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * Sliders (TV series), ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy t ...
at an average and a
changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...
at an average of . Díaz has been a strikeout pitcher in his MLB career, compiling an average of 14.4
strikeouts per nine innings pitched In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...
through the 2021 season. Díaz is known for his
entrance music Entrance music (also known as an entry theme or walk-on music) is a musical piece or song that is played for athletes or entertainers when they first appear in front of the spectators before beginning a performance. Popular music acts may have rec ...
being " Narco" by
Blasterjaxx Blasterjaxx is a Dutch DJ and record producer duo composed of Thom Jongkind (born 1990) and Idir Makhlaf (born 1991), originated in The Hague and active since 2010. They are mostly known for producing big room house and electro house music, bein ...
and
Timmy Trumpet Timothy Jude Smith (born 9 June 1982), known by his stage name Timmy Trumpet, is an Australian musician, DJ, songwriter and record producer. He has become known internationally for playing the trumpet live and making use of jazz elements in dan ...
.


Personal life

In the offseason, Díaz spends time in his native Daguao in the Naguabo Municipality in Puerto Rico, where most of his family lives. Díaz has organized baseball clinics for the children in his hometown as part of his Edwin Díaz Baseball Academy.
Robinson Canó Robinson José Canó Mercedes (; born October 22, 1982) is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman who is currently a free agent. He previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Dieg ...
and
Martín Maldonado Martín Benjamín Maldonado Valdés (born August 16, 1986) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, K ...
have attended these clinics. Díaz's brother, Alexis Díaz, is a professional baseball player who currently pitches for the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
. Alexis' first save, on May 17, 2022, made them the third set of brothers to both earn a save on one day.


See also

*
Baseball in Puerto Rico Baseball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. In terms of spectators and active participants, it is the premier sport on the island. The baseball game was introduced to the island in the late 19th century and the first two baseball clubs we ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career saves leaders In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a save (denoted by SV) who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in w ...
*
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. In addition, all no-hitters that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games are listed, although they are no ...
*
List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Puerto Rico currently has the fourth-most active players in Major League Baseball (MLB) among Latin American jurisdictions, behind the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba. More than three hundred players from the archipelago have played in the ...
*
List of New York Mets no-hitters The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball franchise based in the New York City borough of Queens. Formed in 1962, they play in the National League East division. Pitchers for the Mets have thrown two no-hitters in franchise history. A no-hitte ...
* List of Puerto Ricans *
List of Seattle Mariners team records The Seattle Mariners are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team who have participated in 46 seasons since their inception in 1977. Through July 16, 2022, they have played 7,156 games, winning 3,385, losing 3,769, and tying two, for a winning percent ...
* Most Saves in a single season * Seattle Mariners award winners and league leaders


References


External links

*
Edwin Díaz recent news - Rotoworld.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Edwin 1994 births Living people Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players New York Mets players National League All-Stars Arizona League Mariners players People from Naguabo, Puerto Rico Pulaski Mariners players Clinton LumberKings players Bakersfield Blaze players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players American League All-Stars American League saves champions 2017 World Baseball Classic players