4 DEATH By Satellite Dish - Bo Díaz, VENEZUELA

Baudilio José Díaz Seijas (March 23, 1953 – November 23, 1990) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds from 1977 to 1989. Díaz was the first Venezuelan to play regularly as a catcher in Major League Baseball.

In a 13-year major league career, Díaz played in 993 games, accumulating 834 hits in 3,274 at bats for a .255 career batting average along with 87 home runs, 452 runs batted in and a .297 on base percentage. A two-time All-Star, he finished his career with a .986 fielding percentage.

"Bo was as nice a fellow as you`d want to meet," said Paul Owens, who managed Diaz on the Phillies' World Series champions of 1983. `"He was a good family man. A fine gentleman."

`"I always admired him. Even after we traded him to Cincinnati, he always stopped in to see me when he was in town.``

Diaz holds the Venezuelan League home run record of 20, set in the 1979-80 season. Years earlier, his Little League team was one game away from a trip to the Little League World Series when an earthquake prevented the team from leaving Venezuela.

After the 1989 season, he became a free agent.

Death

On November 23, 1990, Díaz was killed at his home in Caracas when a satellite dish that he was adjusting on the roof of his home fell on him and crushed his neck and head against the base of the dish. He was attempting to adjust the dish, which apparently was knocked off line by high winds, a Caracas TV reported.

He was only 37 years old. He was survived by his wife, Maria, and two sons. In 2006, Diaz was posthumously inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.





Did You Know?

• The late Andrew Breitbart, a conservative American publisher, author and commentator for The Washington Times, was a fan of Bo Diaz and used the moniker and instant message handle “(bodiaz).”

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