ST. PETERSBURG -- “It all ends tomorrow. We're going to win tomorrow.”
For Yandy Díaz, that wasn’t a prediction. That was a spoiler.
His words after American League Championship Series Game 5 proved prophetic in the Rays’ 7-3 victory over the Guardians in ALCS Game 6 at Tropicana Field on Monday. And he provided the exclamation point to the third pennant in franchise history.
Díaz bashed a two-run homer in the eighth inning that gave the Rays their final runs on this momentous night. And he knew it was gone as soon as he made contact with Hunter Gaddis’ changeup.
The pitch rocketed off of Díaz’s bat at 111.9 mph, making it the second-hardest-hit postseason home run by a Rays player in the Statcast began tracking (2015). As the ball began its 416-foot journey into the left-field seats, Díaz immediately raised his arms over his head.
Said ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta: “Everybody knows the result of that pitch. He crushed that baseball -- in a great moment, too.”
As he walked up the first-base line, Díaz high-fived multiple teammates, including Junior Caminero, who had provided what was really the game-changing swing just one inning earlier. Díaz did his customary celebration, flexing his sculpted right arm toward the Rays’ bullpen down the right-field line. He playfully shoved third-base coach Brady Williams as he made his way to home. He formed a heart with his hands just before he stepped on the plate. Then he was mobbed by his teammates.
“It feels like I’m on top of the world,” Díaz said via interpreter Kevin Vera.
As Jonathan Aranda began his at-bat, the sellout crowd of more than 40,000 wanted more of their leadoff hitter. As they chanted “Yandy! Yandy! Yandy!” Caminero grabbed the man of the moment by his jersey collar and practically dragged him back out onto the Trop turf. Díaz acknowledged the home fans and emphatically pumped his right arm to the sky. The massive uppercut was an appropriate reaction following what was the knockout punch of this ALCS.
“Being in Cuba, you dream of being in this moment,” Díaz said. “There was a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard moments, but here we are. So I’m really happy and really thankful to be here.”
Díaz made it to pro ball once the Guardians signed him as an amateur free agent in 2013. He made his Major League debut four years later, and while he’s always had a natural feel for hitting, Díaz wasn’t able to tap into the power that was clearly inside his muscle-bound frame. He hit just one homer over parts of two seasons (88 games) before the Rays acquired him as part of a blockbuster three-team trade prior to the 2019 season.
“Tampa has given me life,” Díaz said. “Just to be here every single day is such an honor. It feels great.”
Since the start of 2022, Díaz owns a 134 OPS+, meaning he has been 34% better than league average at the plate. Among the 142 hitters who have taken at least 2,000 plate appearances in that five-season span, Díaz’s OPS+ is tied with Mookie Betts for 12th best in MLB.
He won a batting title with a .330 average in 2023. He won a Silver Slugger that same season. He has made two All-Star teams, including a selection this season, which he ended with an AL-high 180 hits. And that power has developed, too, as Díaz has exceeded 20 homers in three of the past four seasons.
But no dinger was as important as the one he hit Monday.
“I'm really glad he backed it up, that’s for sure,” manager Kevin Cash said of Díaz’s call after Game 5. “We know when Yandy goes, our offense seems to really take off.”
Once the party began, it was time for Díaz to break out the big meats. He has made a giant tomahawk steak a staple in the Rays’ clubhouse ever since he broke it out as part of the celebration when the team clinched a playoff spot in September. Cash referenced the steak in his celebratory speech after his team’s ALDS triumph over the Yankees. Díaz made sure Monday night's cut was covered in champagne.
Before he got to chowing down and drinking up, Díaz was asked for his thoughts on the upcoming World Series matchup against the Brewers.
Sounds like the perfect time for another prediction. Or perhaps another spoiler.
“It's going to be a great series,” he said, “but we're winning."