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

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. He is the assistant bench coach for the

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of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Diaz was raised in the Dominican Republic. He received multiple professional contract offers as a teenager but, on the advice of his youth coach, Manny Mota, he emigrated to the United States at 18 to play college baseball instead. He started his college baseball career at Gulf Coast State College before moving to Florida International University where he played for the FIU Panthers baseball 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 Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in marketing. He served as the manager for the baseball team at

G. Holmes Braddock High School G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School is a secondary school located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The school is named after a former 38-year member of the school board, who, as chairperson from 1969 to 1970, led ...

in Miami, Florida. Diaz served as the hitting coach for the

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from 2001 through 2006, taking over as their

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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.

Personal life

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