Matt Diaz
From BR Bullpen
Matthew Edward Diaz
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 206 lb.
- School Florida State University
- Debut July 19, 2003
- Born March 3, 1978 in Portland, OR USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Matt Diaz is an outfielder, who has played most of his major league career for the Atlanta Braves.
In 1998 in college he was a Freshman First Team All-American in the outfield, and in 1999 he made the College World Series All-Tournament Team in the outfield for Florida State University.
Diaz was a 17th round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Mark McKnight and maed his pro debut that summer. Although drafted at the age of 21, he was still kicking around the minors when he was nearly 27 years old and had become the all-time leader in hits for the Rays at the minor league level with 789. Finally, the Devil Rays released him and the Kansas City Royals snapped him up and after a year, let him go.
Diaz was an accomplished hitter in AAA. In half a season in 2003 at Durham in the International League, he posted numbers of .328/.382/.518. Again at Durham in 2004, he hit .332/.377/.571. At that point, Tampa Bay released him. In a partial season at Omaha in the Pacific Coast League in 2005, he hit .371/.408/.649. Then Kansas City traded him to the Atlanta Braves for minor league Ricardo Rodriguez. He was with the Braves for the 2006-2010 seasons. In December 2010, he signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but had a disappointing stay in Pittsburgh, hitting .259/.303/.324. On August 31, the Pirates traded him back to the Braves for a player to be named later or cash.
Diaz had hits in 10 consecutive at-bats in August 2006, tying the National League record.
