Sometimes the path you want to take isn’t the best one for you, and a parent's guiding hand can help lead you in the right direction. Trusting his father’s advice would lead New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz to Major League stardom.
Díaz, a three-time All-Star, is the featured guest on the latest episode of No Easy Outs, the new series on MLB YouTube that details how some of the game’s biggest stars have overcome challenges on their way to Major League success. The conversations are designed to relate to younger audiences (ages 8-13), informing them about the powers of perseverance and resilience, while demonstrating how even the best players in the game experienced difficulties that they’ve had to overcome.
Díaz, who grew up in Nagaubo, Puerto Rico, was an outfielder who loved to hit and chase down fly balls until his father and another coach convinced him his powerful right arm would be his ticket to success. Reluctant at first, Díaz became a pitcher full-time around age 14 or 15.
“I knew my father wouldn’t do anything bad for me or try to make me do something bad,” Díaz said. “So, he told me, ‘You should try it.’ So, I trusted them, and I did it.”
Díaz also details his journey through the Minor Leagues after arriving as an 18-year-old who spoke “zero English,” but carried on through bouts of sadness and loneliness.
“I didn’t meet a lot of Latin people there, but I was chasing my dream,” Díaz said. “So wherever the team was putting me, I was trying to do my best always.”
No Easy Outs is a series that utilizes a mix of animation, sit-down interviews, archival footage and dynamic graphics to tell unique stories of each player. Steven Kwan and Andrew McCutchen star in the first two episodes. No Easy Outs is streaming now on MLB’s YouTube page and available on all podcast platforms.