BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
I’ve been covering Spring Training for years and the valuable lesson that I’ve learned is you better be able to think on your feet and have a back-up plan if Plan A doesn’t go through.
It’s easier to create a back-up plan than it was years ago because of the mobile phone. If you need to find out information on someone, then google the individual and it’s right at your fingertips.
When I covered the Boston Red Sox game in North Port, Fla at Cool Today Park, my agenda was to write a pair of stories.
One was about the Atlanta Braves latest Spring Training venue, and I’ve seen them play at the old West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium as well as in Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. That story will follow this one.
The other story I wanted to write was on Darnell Coles, who was added to Atlanta’s Coaching staff this season. Coles has been a friend of mine since his days with the Detroit Tigers.
Who would be my Plan B?
Antonio Tony Diaz happened to be standing next to me in the Braves dugout. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native, was hired by New Manager Walt Weiss to the staff. The 49-year old is the infield coach and started his college baseball career at Gulf Coast College before moving to Florida International University where he played for the FIU Panthers.
According to Coach Danny Price, he was a professional prospect until suffering an arm injury. After his college career, a former teammate recommended him as a baseball coach to the Colorado Rockies, who were specifically looking for bilingual coaches.
He graduated from FIU with a BA Degree in Marketing. He served as manager for the baseball team at G Holmes Braddock High School in Miami Florida. Diaz served as the hitting coach for the Casper Ghosts from 2–1-2006, taking over as their manager in 2007.
Diaz would join the Colorado Rockies in 2017 and stayed in Denver through 2018. His tenure with the Minnesota Twins was from 2019-2024. On April 15, 2025, it was announced that Diaz would be the hitting coach for the Frederick Keys of the MLB Draft League for their upcoming 2025 season.
He was hired to join Walt Weiss’ staff in 2026.
In the dugout, I asked Diaz if he wanted to come on the Motor City Mad Mouth Show.
He agreed to come on and the PR Guy asked me about the South Florida Tribune. I clarified that all interviews I do go to the Show and I write stories on the Tribune. He understood what I was doing and was totally fine with everything.
These days, I like the people I interview to go in multiple places to maximize the exposure. They’ve been extremely cooperative up to this point.
During my conversation with the energetic Diaz, we talked about his journey to the Big Leagues, and if he aspires to be a manager down the road. We even talked about former Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga, who nearly pitched a perfect game, but a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce, led to MLB eventually adding instant replay.
In this story, you’re going to hear the entire interview and his Manager Walt Weiss raved about having Diaz on his staff. That interview is also included in this article.
Nowadays, MLB teams employ as many as 15-20 coaches to give more attention to the other positions and expedite the development of their players. It’s a far cry from years past when there were approximately eight coaches.
Furthermore, with the increased addition of Latin players, bilingual is a must these days.
This guy is a hidden gem on the Braves staff and you’re going to hear more about him in the future especially since there are more Latin managers being hired.
There is nothing better than a Plan B that turns out well which shows the unpredictability of Spring Training. I really have a blast adapting to these situations.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on X @TribuneSouth and see his broadcasts by subscribing at no cost to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.
He also wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which is available on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes and Noble. The audio version is available as well.
Up next, get ready for my story on Cool Today Park.
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