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Bo Díaz
Baudilio José Díaz Seijas (March 23, 1953 – November 23, 1990) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1977 to 1989, most prominently with the Cleveland Indians where he rose to prominence as an American League (AL) All-Star player in 1981 and, later with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was a member of the 1983 National League pennant winning team. He earned his second All-Star game berth with the Cincinnati Reds in 1987. Diaz began his career with the Boston Red Sox. He was the first Venezuelan to play regularly as a catcher in Major League Baseball. In 2006, Díaz was posthumously inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
Díaz was born in Cúa, Miranda, Venezuela. At the age of 14, he played on a national champion Little League team that missed a trip to the 1967 Little League World Series, when a strong earthquake devastated the city of Caracas.
In December 1970, Díaz was signed by Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent. He spent seven seasons playing in the Red Sox minor league system. While playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1977, he posted a .263 batting average, with 14 doubles, 7 home runs, and 54 runs batted in (RBI). This earned Díaz his big league call-up on September 6, 1977, versus the Blue Jays, at Toronto. He entered the game as a late-inning defensive replacement for Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. Díaz appeared in only two games for the Red Sox, being struck out by Dennis Martínez in his only at-bat, which occurred that September 17.
On March 30, 1978, Díaz was traded along with Ted Cox, Mike Paxton and Rick Wise to the Cleveland Indians for Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall. He played as the Indians' backup catcher, working behind Gary Alexander in 1978. He lost his job to Ron Hassey the following season, and played most of the year in the minor leagues with the Tacoma Tugs in the Pacific Coast League, before returning to play for the Indians in September 1979. In 1980, he hit for a .227 average in 76 games but, provided solid defense, committing only 4 errors in 356 total chances, while serving as backup catcher behind Hassey.
After Hassey was injured early in the strike-shortened 1981 season, Cleveland manager Dave Garcia began using Díaz in a platoon role alongside the left-hand hitting Hassey. By June, he was hitting for a .356 batting average with 4 home runs and 25 runs batted in to earn a place as a reserve player for the American League team in the 1981 All-Star Game. He ended the season with a .313 batting average in 63 games.
In November 1981, Díaz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies as part of a three-team trade. He became the Phillies starting catcher in 1982, replacing Bob Boone, who had been traded to the California Angels. Díaz set career highs in batting average (.288), home runs (18), and runs batted in (85). Although Díaz led National League catchers in stolen bases allowed, his pitch-calling skills helped pitcher Steve Carlton become the league's only twenty-game winner of the season. Carlton also led the league in strikeouts and shutouts and, was named the 1982 National League Cy Young Award winner. In a 1982 computer ranking of major league players that used offensive and defensive statistics, Díaz was ranked second among National League catchers behind only Gary Carter.
Díaz was a member of the 1983 Phillies team that became known as The Wheeze Kids, due to the average age of the team being over thirty. The moniker was a whimsical reference to the Whiz Kids Phillies team that won the National League pennant in 1950. In a game against the New York Mets on April 13, 1983, Díaz performed a feat that has only been accomplished by 11 other players in the history of Major League Baseball. The Phillies were trailing by a score of 9–6 and with two outs in the ninth inning, when Díaz hit a grand slam home run off Neil Allen to win the game for the Phillies by a score of 10–9. On September 23, Díaz was the Phillies catcher when Steve Carlton won the 300th game of his career. With the Phillies leading the game by a score of 3–2 in the fifth inning, Díaz sealed the victory with a two-run single.
The Phillies won 12 out of the final 14 games of the 1983 season to win the National League Eastern Division title. Díaz contributed by hitting .360 in the final week of the season, including a game on September 28 against the Chicago Cubs in which he had 5 hits in 5 at-bats including 2 home runs. Although he led National League catchers in errors, he led the league in range factor and finished second in putouts, assists and in baserunners caught stealing. After defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1983 National League Championship Series, the Phillies lost the 1983 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles in five games. In the only World Series appearance of his career, Díaz was the leading hitter for the Phillies with a .333 batting average. During Game One of the Series (the only game of the Series that the Phillies won, by a 2–1 score), Díaz almost hit a home-run, but he was robbed of it by John Lowenstein with a spectacular, beyond the wall catch.
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Bo Díaz
Baudilio José Díaz Seijas (March 23, 1953 – November 23, 1990) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1977 to 1989, most prominently with the Cleveland Indians where he rose to prominence as an American League (AL) All-Star player in 1981 and, later with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was a member of the 1983 National League pennant winning team. He earned his second All-Star game berth with the Cincinnati Reds in 1987. Diaz began his career with the Boston Red Sox. He was the first Venezuelan to play regularly as a catcher in Major League Baseball. In 2006, Díaz was posthumously inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
Díaz was born in Cúa, Miranda, Venezuela. At the age of 14, he played on a national champion Little League team that missed a trip to the 1967 Little League World Series, when a strong earthquake devastated the city of Caracas.
In December 1970, Díaz was signed by Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent. He spent seven seasons playing in the Red Sox minor league system. While playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1977, he posted a .263 batting average, with 14 doubles, 7 home runs, and 54 runs batted in (RBI). This earned Díaz his big league call-up on September 6, 1977, versus the Blue Jays, at Toronto. He entered the game as a late-inning defensive replacement for Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. Díaz appeared in only two games for the Red Sox, being struck out by Dennis Martínez in his only at-bat, which occurred that September 17.
On March 30, 1978, Díaz was traded along with Ted Cox, Mike Paxton and Rick Wise to the Cleveland Indians for Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall. He played as the Indians' backup catcher, working behind Gary Alexander in 1978. He lost his job to Ron Hassey the following season, and played most of the year in the minor leagues with the Tacoma Tugs in the Pacific Coast League, before returning to play for the Indians in September 1979. In 1980, he hit for a .227 average in 76 games but, provided solid defense, committing only 4 errors in 356 total chances, while serving as backup catcher behind Hassey.
After Hassey was injured early in the strike-shortened 1981 season, Cleveland manager Dave Garcia began using Díaz in a platoon role alongside the left-hand hitting Hassey. By June, he was hitting for a .356 batting average with 4 home runs and 25 runs batted in to earn a place as a reserve player for the American League team in the 1981 All-Star Game. He ended the season with a .313 batting average in 63 games.
In November 1981, Díaz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies as part of a three-team trade. He became the Phillies starting catcher in 1982, replacing Bob Boone, who had been traded to the California Angels. Díaz set career highs in batting average (.288), home runs (18), and runs batted in (85). Although Díaz led National League catchers in stolen bases allowed, his pitch-calling skills helped pitcher Steve Carlton become the league's only twenty-game winner of the season. Carlton also led the league in strikeouts and shutouts and, was named the 1982 National League Cy Young Award winner. In a 1982 computer ranking of major league players that used offensive and defensive statistics, Díaz was ranked second among National League catchers behind only Gary Carter.
Díaz was a member of the 1983 Phillies team that became known as The Wheeze Kids, due to the average age of the team being over thirty. The moniker was a whimsical reference to the Whiz Kids Phillies team that won the National League pennant in 1950. In a game against the New York Mets on April 13, 1983, Díaz performed a feat that has only been accomplished by 11 other players in the history of Major League Baseball. The Phillies were trailing by a score of 9–6 and with two outs in the ninth inning, when Díaz hit a grand slam home run off Neil Allen to win the game for the Phillies by a score of 10–9. On September 23, Díaz was the Phillies catcher when Steve Carlton won the 300th game of his career. With the Phillies leading the game by a score of 3–2 in the fifth inning, Díaz sealed the victory with a two-run single.
The Phillies won 12 out of the final 14 games of the 1983 season to win the National League Eastern Division title. Díaz contributed by hitting .360 in the final week of the season, including a game on September 28 against the Chicago Cubs in which he had 5 hits in 5 at-bats including 2 home runs. Although he led National League catchers in errors, he led the league in range factor and finished second in putouts, assists and in baserunners caught stealing. After defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1983 National League Championship Series, the Phillies lost the 1983 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles in five games. In the only World Series appearance of his career, Díaz was the leading hitter for the Phillies with a .333 batting average. During Game One of the Series (the only game of the Series that the Phillies won, by a 2–1 score), Díaz almost hit a home-run, but he was robbed of it by John Lowenstein with a spectacular, beyond the wall catch.