TORONTO – Jonathan Diaz’s brief cameo with the 2013 Boston Red Sox will be rewarded Saturday with a World Series ring.
Manager John Farrell and vice president and assistant GM Mike Hazen will make the presentation to the Toronto Blue Jays infielder in a private ceremony before the teams meet.
“It’s crazy, surreal, it doesn’t even make sense to me,” said Diaz. “So many years in the minor leagues, I got a week in the big leagues and now I’m getting a World Series ring. There are guys who have played the game forever and they haven’t gotten the opportunity. I got lucky.”
After 7½ years and nearly 700 games in the minors, Diaz made his big-league debut with the Red Sox last June 29 – against the Blue Jays of all teams. He played five games before being returned to triple-A Pawtucket in his only season with the organization.
This past winter he re-signed with the Blue Jays, who picked him in the 12th round of the 2006 draft.
Diaz was playing Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic during Boston’s championship run, unable to watch their games live but keeping tabs on the team as best he could.
“Just being there for a week I got to experience the magic that was in the clubhouse, the chemistry, the winning mentality, it was something special,” he said, adding that getting a ring is something he didn’t “really expect at all. Those guys over there are a class organization. I didn’t really do much when I was over there, I was only there for a week, but they were gracious enough to get me a ring.”
For the moment, Diaz has no plans for the ring.
“I’m afraid to tote that thing around, it’s worth more money than I’ve got in the bank,” he said. “I’ll probably put it in a safety deposit box.”
