Rafael J. Díaz (born December 12, 1970) is a Mexican

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 ...

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, ...

who is a free agent. Díaz attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

. The

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

selected Díaz in the ninth round of the 1989 MLB Draft. He played in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for the Reds organization in 1989 and 1990 and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

organization in 1991. He pitched for the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...

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 ...

in 2000. In 2012, he played in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

for the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...

. He appeared in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

for Mexico. Díaz last played for the

Generales de Durango The Generales de Durango (English: Durango Generals) were a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) that was established in November 2016. The team was based in Durango, the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Durango. ...

of the Mexican League in 2019, when he was the oldest player in the league.

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1971 births Living people Águilas de Mexicali players Baseball City Royals players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players from Chihuahua Cañeros de Los Mochis players Generales de Durango players Gulf Coast Expos players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Pocatello Posse players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Saraperos de Saltillo players Seibu Lions players Sportspeople from Ciudad Juárez Toros de Tijuana players Venados de Mazatlán players 2009 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of Mexico {{Mexico-baseball-pitcher-stub