Ogui Diaz!

Ogui Diaz, everyone!

Photo Credit: Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

AquaSox’s Ogui Diaz takes the mound

Diaz was a fixture in the Everett lineup during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, though he had his struggles. In 2006, he batted .240 with 10 RBI. In 2007, he hit .225 with three home runs and 14 RBI, and in both seasons had issues in the field.

The past two seasons Diaz was something of a vagabond, bouncing from location to location within the Mariners organization. He spent time in the high-Class A California League with High Desert, in the mid-Class A Midwest League with Clinton and in the Class AA Southern League with West Tennessee, never batting above .245 or achieving regular status.

Diaz’s career seemed headed into oblivion, but a fateful July 7 night while playing in Clinton, Iowa, last season changed his career path. The LumberKings were getting hammered and were out of pitching, so Diaz was summoned to pitch the ninth. Diaz hadn’t pitched since he was 11 years old, but he tossed a perfect inning, and a new career was born.

“The game was like 12-2, so they gave me a chance,” Diaz recalled. “I got to like it, so I stayed a pitcher.”

Here are some names out of the past:

“Ogui has done a good job in his conversion,” AquaSox pitching coach Rich Dorman said. “We had a conversion guy last year, Eddy Hernandez. Eddy had a great arm, Ogui has a great arm. Eddy struggled to throw strikes, this guy is going to pound the strike zone. And he’s our best pitcher off the mound, going back to his fielding background, so the conversion isn’t as hard for him.”

Eddy Hernandez was a Rattler who struggled in 2006 & 2008. Rich Dorman was a Rattlers pitcher in 2003. Dorman did not struggle.