PHOENIX — When Laz Diaz arrived at Tiger Stadium to make his major-league debut, Sparky Anderson was in the Detroit Tigers dugout, Phil Garner was managing the Milwaukee Brewers, and the lineups were littered with names like Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, Cecil Fielder, David Wells, B.J. Surhoff and Daryl Hamilton.
The year was 1995.
Advertisement
Now, 31 years later, with Tiger Stadium long gone, Diaz will be back in Detroit, this time at Comerica Park, where he is scheduled to be the home-plate umpire Saturday, Sept. 26, when future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander makes his final appearance.
Diaz, who was also the home-plate umpire in Verlander’s first postseason game in 2006 at Yankee Stadium – a 4-3 victory in the AL Division Series – now is calling it a career, too.
More: Phillies can’t live in fear of another playoff bullpen debacle
Diaz, 63, only the second Latino crew chief in MLB history and a former Marine Corps reserve, is umpiring his final regular-season game Sunday, Sept. 27. He and six other veteran umpires have taken the buyouts and will say good-bye to a game that has dramatically changed.
1 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
The New York Yankees lead the pack by a wide margin with 27 World Series titles, the most championships in major American professional sports. They’re followed by the St. Louis Cardinals, who have won the Fall Classic 11 times, while the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers have catapulted into the No. 3 spot with their ninth championship − and third in the last five years − in 2025. Also tied for third-most World Series are the Boston Red Sox and the Athletics. The A’s former neighbors across the Bay, the San Francisco Giants, are fourth (eight championships). The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates round out the top five with five titles apiece. Here’s a complete ranking of every MLB club by World Series titles:
(Bettmann, Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
1 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
The New York Yankees lead the pack by a wide margin with 27 World Series titles, the most championships in major American professional sports. They’re followed by the St. Louis Cardinals, who have won the Fall Classic 11 times, while the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers have catapulted into the No. 3 spot with their ninth championship − and third in the last five years − in 2025. Also tied for third-most World Series are the Boston Red Sox and the Athletics. The A’s former neighbors across the Bay, the San Francisco Giants, are fourth (eight championships). The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates round out the top five with five titles apiece. Here’s a complete ranking of every MLB club by World Series titles:
(Bettmann, Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
2 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Atlanta Braves – 4 titles (1914, 1957, 1995, 2021)
(CHRIS WILKINS, AFP via Getty Images)
11 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Detroit Tigers – 4 titles (1935, 1945, 1968, 1984)
(Mary Schroeder, Detroit Free Press via USA TODAY Network)
12 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Baltimore Orioles – 3 titles (1966, 1970, 1983)
(PORTER BINKS, USA TODAY)
13 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Chicago Cubs – 3 titles (1907, 1908, 2016)
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)
14 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Chicago White Sox – 3 titles (1906, 1917, 2005)
(Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)
15 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Minnesota Twins – 3 titles (1924, 1987, 1991)
(ROBERT DEUTSCH, USA TODAY)
16 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Cleveland Guardians – 2 titles (1920, 1948)
(Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
17 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Houston Astros – 2 titles (2017, 2022)
(Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images)
18 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Kansas City Royals – 2 titles (1985, 2015)
(ROBERT DEUTSCH, USA TODAY)
19 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Miami Marlins – 2 titles (1997, 2003)
(H. DARR BEISER, USA TODAY)
20 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
New York Mets – 2 titles (1969, 1986)
(Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
21 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Philadelphia Phillies – 2 titles (1980, 2008)
(H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
22 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Toronto Blue Jays – 2 titles (1992, 1993)
(Rick Stewart, Getty Images)
23 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1 title (2001)
(JACK GRUBER, USA TODAY)
24 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Los Angeles Angels – 1 title (2002)
(ROBERT DEUTSCH, USA TODAY)
25 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Texas Rangers – 1 title (2023)
(Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images)
26 / 26
MLB teams ranked by their World Series championships
Washington Nationals – 1 title (2019)
(Erik Williams, Imagn Images)
When Diaz arrived, there were no video reviews. No ABS system. No challenges. No pitch-coms. No mandatory checks for banned substances. No New York review center. No public umpire scorecards.
Advertisement
And no hot mics.
Being a major-league umpire is not only one the most demanding jobs in all of baseball, but also the least rewarding.
“I tell these young guys there’s so much pressure in this game,” Diaz tells USA TODAY Sports. “So, if you’re not going to have fun in this game, don’t do it. Do not do it. It’s not worth it. There’s just so much scrutiny and negative stuff now.
“It’s nasty. We don’t get the recognition. Everybody is putting us down. Like with Angel (Hernandez) and C.B. (Bucknor), they got so much criticism, and they’re great umpires. But everything is just so (expletive) negative.”
Advertisement
He’s going to miss the people and friends he made over the years, on and off the field, but the game, well, not so much.
“There are a lot of people I’m going to miss, and I made a lot of friends, but what I won’t miss is the game,” says Diaz, the son of Cuban immigrants. “Not one bit. It’s just changed so much. There’s so much more technical stuff. It’s kind of restricted us. I mean, everything is black and white now. You can’t manage the game.
“You used to look at the scoreboard, and you’d see a player’s batting average, home runs, RBI and stolen bases. Now, you look up, there’s all kinds of stats up there, exit velocity, launch angle, on-base percentage, OPS. You can’t find anything because it’s all a percentage.”
Laz Diaz made his MLB debut in 1995 and joined full-time in 1999.
He also came up when umpires weren’t mic’d to notify the crowd of challenges and reviews, leading to embarrassing hot mic incidents. Twice in the the last two months, Diaz accidentally blurted an obscenity in his mic that blared the stadium loudspeakers unaware his mic was still on.
Advertisement
Diaz became a full-time major league umpire in 1999 after playing in the minor leagues as an outfielder and shortstop. His first manager in the minors was Minnesota Twins’ Class A manager Duffy Dyer, who happened to be the Brewers’ third-base coach in Diaz’s umpiring debut. Dyer brought out the lineup card that day, didn’t say anything to Diaz, and it wasn’t until the sixth inning that Diaz finally said to Dyer, “You don’t remember me, do you?”
Dyer: “Am I supposed to?“
Diaz: “Well, I did play for you in 1984 with Kenosha.“
Now decades later, it’s coming to an end, with Diaz keeping the nameplate atop his locker after every series, and making sure to thank each member of the grounds crew in every ballpark he visits.
Advertisement
“I like talking to the grounds crew because without them,” Diaz says, “we couldn’t do our job. We couldn’t play this game. I appreciate what they do. They’re the first ones here, the last ones to leave, and you know every time they come by, I thank them for doing what they do. You got to give them their props.”
Diaz will leave with plenty of memories, from working three World Series, Barry Bonds’ record-setting 756th home run game, Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, games in Australia and the Dominican Republic, WBC games in Japan and Puerto Rico, and the inaugural Field of Dreams Game between the Yankees and White Sox in Dyersville, Iowa.
He still has the lineup card from his first World Series game in 2007 when the Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies, and plans to keep the lineup card from last game, too.
He’ll fly to his Orlando home after the game Sunday, do some fishing in Puerto Rico, and even has volunteered to help out his wife’s cousin as a deckhand on chartered boat tours.
Advertisement
Just don’t expect him to be at a ballpark any time in the near future.
Or maybe ever.
“I’ve been blessed,” Diaz says. “The Lord has definitely blessed me throughout my career. It was a great run.
“But now, it’s time.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Umpire Laz Diaz calls out ‘nasty’ MLB climate as he ends storied career | Exclusive
