Matt Diaz

Matthew Edward Diaz (/ˈdaɪ.əz/ DY-əz; born March 3, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins.

Amateur career

As a two-year starter at Florida State University, Diaz helped lead the Seminoles to two College World Series appearances, including the 1999 title game vs. the University of Miami. He was named the Sporting News man of the Year in 1998, and a First Team All-American (American Baseball Coaches Association, National Baseball College Writers' Association) in 1999.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft in the 17th round.

Despite being among the Devil Rays' minor league career leaders in hits and extra base hits, Diaz had a tough time in the majors, hitting only .167 in 30 at-bats in his two years with the Devil Rays.

Kansas City Royals

After being released by Tampa Bay, Diaz signed with the Kansas City Royals where he hit .281 with 10 extra base hits (including 1 home run) and 12 RBI in a backup role in 2005.

Diaz

Díaz is a common Spanish surname with multiple meanings in multiple languages. First found in Castile, where the name originated in the Visigoths period, the name accounts for about 0.17 % of the Spanish population, ranking as the 14th-most frequently found surname in both 1999 and 2004 compared to the most popular Spanish surname of those years.

Variants and related names

There is minor evidence that Díez may be equivalent to Díaz, in the form of Spanish language listing of most frequent surnames in 1999 Spain (OcioTotal 1999). However, a 2008 in-press academic manuscript about Spanish naming in 2004 suggests otherwise, listing statistics for "Díaz" and "Díez" separately (Mateos & Tucker 2008).

In relation to descent from the Biblical names James and Jacob, it has been surmised that Díaz is a derivation of Diego from Iago (Smith 1986), Sant Iagus. A second source suggests Díaz as being derived from a Gothic form of the paternal genitive of Dia, as in "Dia's child", or Diag, Diago or Diego (Dixon 1857). Dias translates into Son of Jacob

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.

Nate Diaz

Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985), professionally known as Nate Diaz, is an American mixed martial artist currently competing for the UFC in the lightweight division and the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5. He is the younger brother of mixed martial artist and former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and WEC Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz. In addition to the UFC, Diaz has competed in the WEC, Strikeforce, and Pancrase in Japan. As of January 4, 2016, Diaz is #7 in official UFC lightweight rankings.

Background

Nate, the younger brother of Nick Diaz, was born and raised in Stockton, California. Like his brother, he went to Tokay High School, and at the age of 14, Nate began training with Nick. Together, they run a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Lodi, California and is known to train with Nicolas 'Nico Greek' Lipari.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter 5

Diaz was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, which exclusively featured Lightweights, fighting on Jens Pulver's team. In the preliminary round, Diaz defeated Rob Emerson by submission; in the quarterfinals he defeated fellow Team Pulver teammate Corey Hill via triangle choke submission in the first round. In the semifinals, Diaz defeated Team Penn member Gray Maynard by submission, advancing to the finals where he faced teammate Manvel Gamburyan. After losing the first round, Diaz won by submission after Gamburyan was forced to tap out in the second round due to the dislocation of his right shoulder as the result of attempting a takedown. With the victory, Diaz became the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5.

Matt

Matt may refer to:

See also