A few scouts with radar guns checked out a touted Live Oak High
hurler when Hollister High met the Acorns in the Tri-County
Athletic League opener March 12 in Hollister.
A few scouts with radar guns checked out a touted Live Oak High hurler when Hollister High met the Acorns in the Tri-County Athletic League opener March 12 in Hollister.
The Balers’ Eric Diaz Jr. was coyly ready and waiting. He took the Acorns Ryan Muller deep for the Balers’ only run in a 10-1 loss.
Then on April 30 in front of more Major League scouts, Diaz clouted another home run off Muller in a 5-1 defeat to the Acorns.
Surely, Diaz had to catch even a wee notice from the birddogs, however few were in attendance. If he didn’t do it then, what Diaz accomplished during the 15-game T-CAL season must have.
The left-handed hitting Diaz led the league in hitting with a .581 average with 25 hits in 43 at bats. He was first in the league in doubles with eight and tied for first in home runs with three. Diaz was second in RBI’s with 16.
“I saw it coming,” said Baler teammate Gordon Ross. “I played with him on JV’s two years ago when he hit .400 or .500. He’s having an awesome season. He has my vote for league MVP.”
Diaz leads the No. 7 seeded Balers this Wednesday when they entertain 10th-seeded Aptos in a first round Central Coast Section Division I playoff game. Diaz is expected to not only deliver at the plate for the Balers, he’s also expected to be the one to stifle the power-laden Mariners, who have belted 24 home runs this season.
Diaz, who throws four different pitches, is capable of doing just that. He’s 8-3 overall and 4-1 in league with an ERA of 1.83. In 38.1 T-CAL innings, Diaz has fanned 53 with 13 walks. He will get the ball on Wednesday.
“I’ve improved my control from the beginning of the season,” said Diaz, who can throw in the mid to high 80’s with consistency. “I’m pitching more, instead of throwing. Pitching is mostly mental.”
“He has a plan now,” said Balers pitching coach Bryan Humphreys. “He comes back to the dugout between innings and gives me feedback as to how he’s going to pitch to the next few batters in the next inning. A lot of seniors don’t do that. You have to want to do it.”
Thinking of Eric Sr.
Diaz’ banner season has been filled with emotion. His father, Eric Diaz Sr., was diagnosed with a form of cancer nine months ago. Diaz Sr. underwent two surgeries and will start chemotherapy next Monday due to the fact the cancer has filtered into the lymph nodes. Diaz Sr., who has coached Eric in the past at the youth level and never misses a game, missed five games during the season.
“I’ve dedicated this season to my dad,” said Eric Jr. “I’m o.k. emotionally with it. He’s the one that has been strong for me. When he was in the hospital for two weeks, I called him every night. But he just wanted to talk about baseball, not about his illness.”
“We try to keep things low-key around the house,” said Eric Sr, who played baseball at Gavilan College and Sacramento State in the late ’70s. “We try to not put too much panic on the kids. We’ve talked to them. They know what’s going on. It’s great that Eric has had such a fine season. Everything has come together for him.”
Eric Jr.’s courage under duress has impressed Hollister skipper Neal Andrade.
“Eric has always come to practices and games upbeat and positive,” said Andrade. “To play the way he has played considering what has happened to his dad has been remarkable.”
Young for his grade
Eric Diaz Jr. was born August 25, 1985 in Gilroy. Two years later, the Diaz’ moved to Hollister. Eric Jr. began playing t-ball at the age of five, then continued on through the Hollister Little League program. He made the all-star team when he was 9, 10 and 12. He was hurt as an 11 year-old.
Success started to come for him even more when he was in the San Benito County Babe Ruth League. His 14 and 15 year-old all-star teams each won their opening district tournament to advance to the Central State Tournament. When he was 15, his team was leading Hanford in the semifinals before eventually losing. Hanford eventually went on to the Babe Ruth League World Series.
It was about at the age of 15 when Diaz joined the Monterey-based Aldrete Baseball Academy, run by Rich Aldrete.
“I owe a lot to my dad, who helped me with my swing when I was 5-through-14,” said Diaz. “Aldrete really helped me become a complete hitter. He taught me to shorten up my stroke. I used to be a dead-pull hitter, but now I hit to all fields.”
“Eric really sits back on the ball and is patient,” said Andrade. “He has the ability to hit to the opposite field. Pitchers always pitch away, away, away until you can prove you can hit it. Eric keeps hitting them and then they come inside and he gets around on it. He hasn’t been in a slump all year. He’s a solid hitter.”
Bakich feels Diaz can play at the next level.
“He has such quick hands,” said Bakich of Diaz. “He can flat-out hit. Pitchers like to pound you away and Eric can hit that outside pitch and he’s quick enough to get around on the inside pitch.”
“Diaz would be a great pick-up for a junior college,” said Humphreys. “He can hit and he can pitch. Some JC’s want you to do just one or the other, but that’s kind of stupid with a guy like Diaz.”
Diaz is young for his grade and he still can grow. He stands 6 feet and weighs 160 pounds.
“I want to weight lift a lot this summer to gain 25 to 35 pounds of muscle,” said Diaz. “I already have some pop in my bat, but I’d have more if I were bigger. That’s why I’m not getting too much attention right now. Aldrete said that if I was a junior, I’d be an All-American.”
Thrills in ’03
Diaz says the biggest thrill for the team was in the last game of the regular season at Palma when the Balers won their second straight league title, thanks to an upset win by Gilroy over Live Oak.
His biggest individual thrill was in a 2-1 victory at home against Salinas in a game which lasted eight innings. Diaz, who had struck out 13 batters without getting the decision, knocked in the winning run with a single.
“That was our first big challenge of the season,” said Diaz. “That was a must win for us. That day, I became a pitcher. I gained so much confidence that day.”
Diaz, who plans to play at Monterey Peninsula College next season, blanks when he’s asked what he’ll do if he doesn’t play pro baseball. He hasn’t thought that far ahead.
“That’s what I want to do,” he said. “I really don’t know of anything else. My mom wants me to go into dentistry.”
For now, the only spraying, drilling and pulling done by Diaz will be when bat meets ball.
