Elias Diaz makes All-Star Game, Colorado Rockies history with one swing of the bat

By winning MLB All-Star Game MVP, Elias Diaz made history for the Colorado Rockies and made a prophet out of Orlando Arcia of the Atlanta Braves.

SEATTLE — Elias Diaz had already made history for the Colorado Rockies by even being selected to the 2023 MLB All-Star Game. However, with one swing of the bat on Tuesday night in Seattle, Diaz’s impact on the Midsummer Classic became even more historic in context.

Diaz, the first catcher in Colorado history to earn a spot in the MLB All-Star Game, blasted a two-run homer with no outs in the top of the eighth inning to provide what would be the winning margin for the National League in an eventual 3-2 victory over their American League counterparts. Diaz’s homer gave the NL just enough to post its first win in the All-Star Game since 2012.

Entering the game as a pinch hitter after Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos drew a walk to open the inning, Diaz took a splitter from Baltimore Orioles reliever Felix Bautista over the left field wall to set off a celebration in the NL dugout.

It was a well-earned celebration for the NL, finally finding a spark off its bench to put a decade-long losing streak to rest. The All-Star Game MVP award was also well-earned by Diaz, who became the first Rockies player to ever win the honor at the Midsummer Classic.

Oh, and that eighth-inning homer? Well, it also put Diaz in some elite company.

Diaz also became the first Venezuelan player to ever win MLB All-Star MVP.

All in all, it wasn’t bad for a player who told NL manager Rob Thomson before the game that he would do whatever was asked of him that night, including not playing if that was what was best for the team.

“As soon as he walked in the clubhouse and I met him, he said, ‘I’ll do anything you want,'” Thomson recalled. “If I play, I play. If I don’t, I don’t. I’m just happy to be here. So for him to do that, it’s fantastic.”

Elias Diaz’s unpredictable and amazing All-Star weekend similar to his career path

Perhaps a better story couldn’t have been written about who would come through for the NL in a pinch-hit on the game’s biggest summer stage. During media availability on Monday, Diaz’s table where he would host his interviews was the farthest along the warning track in right-center field and was originally placed next to players who had been taken in the previous night’s MLB draft. Some quick movements of the table before reporters arrived ensured that Diaz was with his current MLB colleagues rather than any future ones.

During media availability, Diaz basked in the moment, telling reporters he was indeed just happy to be there and also waxing on about his friend and former Rockies teammate, Carlos Estevez, being included on the AL roster as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. The time in Seattle made for a reunion between the two friends. Diaz even joked that he would try to hit a home run off his friend Estevez if they faced each other in the All-Star Game. As it turns out, it would be another AL reliever who would serve up a long ball to Diaz.

While many in the crowd wouldn’t have picked Diaz as the one who would hit a home run to win it for the NL, there was one person who was confident in the game’s outcome — Atlanta’s Orlando Arcia, who started the game at shortstop for the NL.

“He said to me, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to hit a homer and you’re going to win the MVP,'” Diaz dished after the game.

By winning MVP, Diaz will now be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame as well, donating his NL jersey to Cooperstown shortly after finishing all of his media responsibilities after the game.

Diaz was the only member of the Rockies selected to be in Seattle this week. He was also among the players who were listed as 50-to-1 odds to win MVP in the contest. There may have been plenty stacked against Diaz, but that’s nothing new for the 32-year-old catcher. Cut free by the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 2019 season, Diaz signed a minor league deal with the Rockies later that offseason. Having once again proven his worth to a franchise, now in his fourth season with the Rockies, Diaz has developed into one of the leaders of the team and one of the top players at his position.

“It’s incredible,” Diaz said through an interpreter on Tuesday night, reflecting on his journey to that moment. “When that happened, when they (Pirates) let me go, I didn’t allow myself to feel defeated. I maintained my confidence and stayed positive. Now I’m just happy to be here and have this experience.”

It’s an experience that wasn’t expected on Tuesday night, and certainly one that won’t be forgotten any time soon.