Víctor Israel Díaz (born December 10, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. He 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) for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

and Texas Rangers, in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

and in

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 ...

(NPB) for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

Career

Díaz attended

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

High School in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where he was honored as an

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

All-State baseball player each of his four years there. As a high schooler, he was invited to dinner by fellow Dominican and star

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

outfielder

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (; born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and ...

. He attended

Grayson County College Grayson College is a public community college in Grayson County, Texas. The main campus is in Denison and it has branch campuses in Denison (west extension, at the site of the old Perrin Air Force Base) and Van Alstyne (south campus). Hist ...

where he was a first-team

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

All-American. He was selected by the

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 ...

in the 37th round of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft The 2000 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held in June 2000. A total of 1,452 players were drafted. First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins ...

and signed as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. Díaz achieved quick success as a minor league hitter, winning the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

batting title in with a .354

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He managed the same feat the following year hitting .350 in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. In , he was traded by the Dodgers to the

for

Jeromy Burnitz Jeromy Neal Burnitz (born April 15, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player. Burnitz was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the New York Mets (1993–94, 2002–03), Cleveland Indians (1995–96), Milwaukee ...

. Because of his limited fielding skills, the Mets moved Diaz to the outfield in . Díaz made his major league debut with the Mets on September 11, 2004. He was impressive during his September tryout, hitting a three-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

with two outs in the bottom of the ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

to win a pivotal game against the playoff-contending

, essentially knocking them out of the playoffs on September 25, 2004. After the 2004 season, the Mets included Dìaz on their 2005

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster, and he played his first and only full Major League season, as in 89 games he hit .257 with 12 home runs and 38 R.B.I.s. On August 22, 2006, Diaz was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Mets. On August 30, 2006, Diaz was dealt to the Texas Rangers for Mike Nickeas. After the 2006 season, Diaz headed to the Instructional League to work with hitting coach

Brook Jacoby Brook Wallace Jacoby (born November 23, 1959) is an American former third baseman. He played in the major leagues from 1981 through 1992, and in Japan in 1993. His father, Brook Wallace Jacoby Sr., played in the Philadelphia Phillies organizatio ...

on his swing, then he played in the Dominican Winter League. Diaz competed for a spot on the Rangers 25-man roster, but did not make the cut and started the season with Triple-A

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Diaz was eventually called up to the Rangers and hit 9 home runs in only 104 at-bats and only 25 hits. He only appeared in 37 games for the Rangers in and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after the season. On January 11, 2008, Diaz signed a minor league contract with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, but was released on May 2, 2008. Shortly thereafter, he signed a minor league contract with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners 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 ...

and was assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season. On December 1, 2008, he signed with the

in South Korea. But he was released from Hanwha on July 8, 2009. On July 19, 2009, Díaz signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

and was assigned to their minor league affiliate, the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

. In 2012, Díaz signed a one-year deal worth $200,000 (15m Yen) and a $50,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

(3.9mil Yen) to play professionally in Japan for the

In 2013, Diaz played for the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

, and batted .172 (20-116) with 2 home runs and 46 strikeouts. In the summer of 2014, Diaz played in the Westchester-Rockland Wood Bat League and hit .340 (16-47) during the regular season while playing in only 17 games, and .500 (10-20) with two homeruns in 6 postseason games Diaz signed with the

Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. B ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

for the 2015 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Victor 1981 births Águilas Cibaeñas players Binghamton Mets players Bridgeport Bluefish players Broncos de Reynosa players Chunichi Dragons players Diablos Rojos del México players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in South Korea Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Grand Prairie AirHogs players Hanwha Eagles players Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma RedHawks players Rockford RiverHawks players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Round Rock Express players Baseball players from Chicago Tacoma Rainiers players Texas Rangers players Tigres del Licey players Vaqueros Laguna players Wichita Wingnuts players Yaquis de Obregón players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Gigantes del Cibao players Jacksonville Suns players South Georgia Waves players