Einar Antonio Díaz (born December 28, 1972) is a Panamanian 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 and coach 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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

. Díaz played 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 ...

(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 catc ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, Texas Rangers,

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

from 1996 through 2006.

Playing career

Díaz was called up in by the

to back up then-starting catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. 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 professional baseball catcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ran ...

, 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 Fiel ...

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 ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 Sandy Alomar Jr. was traded). Díaz would only compile 3

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

s 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 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 was assigned to their

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Triple-A club at the end of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. 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 * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

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 (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

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

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 ...

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, Nicaragua * Bluefields, Jamaica {{geodis ...

. He was previously the batting coach for the Delmarva Shorebirds. 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. He was named hitting coach of the FCL Braves the rookie league affiliate of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

for the 2025 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 20th-century Panamanian sportsmen 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 Sportspeople from Chiriquí Province St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players