Laz Diaz was there for Barry Bonds’ record-setting 756th home run game, Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, the inaugural Field of Dreams Game between the Yankees and White Sox, WBC games in Japan and Puerto Rico, and for the injunction of modern technology in baseball. When he became an umpire in 1995, MLB did not have video reviews, challenges, pitch-coms, public umpire scorecards, and certainly no ABS. Umpires managed the games entirely. After witnessing MLB change over the course of 31 years, Laz Diaz will collect his final lineup card on September 27. But instead of simply looking back fondly on his lengthy career, the veteran umpire has shared a remarkably candid assessment of modern baseball— a game he won’t miss.
“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,” Diaz told USA Today. “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.”
Diaz is among seven longtime umpires who have accepted buyouts and will retire after the 2026 season. The group also includes C.B. Bucknor, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo, and Andy Fletcher. The umpiring crew in 2027 will look vastly different without these familiar faces.
Notably, Diaz’s career will come full circle in Detroit. After debuting as a major league umpire at Tiger Stadium three decades ago, he will be back in Detroit to retire. Though Tiger Stadium is long gone, Comerica Park will host his final regular-season game. On the same day, Justin Verlander, the oldest active MLB player, is also retiring. Coincidentally, Diaz was the home plate umpire during Verlander’s first postseason game at Yankee Stadium in 2006.
For much of Diaz’s career, an umpire’s judgment was ultimately the final word on the field. Today, that can be challenged and reviewed. And with overturned calls come criticisms. Umpires have been at the receiving end of fans’ wrath for missed calls. The same is true for the veteran umpire. He may not like it, but some of those wrong calls have been absolutely outrageous. Like in June 2025, Diaz rang up Tampa Bay’s Jake Mangum on a pitch that was nowhere near the plate. Diaz’s 92% accuracy rate makes sense. Despite heavy criticism, Diaz did not balk and has umpired 3525 games so far, per Baseball Almanac.
With his last day just around the corner, Diaz also revealed that his job was among the least rewarding.
“It’s nasty. We don’t get the recognition. Everybody is putting us down,” said Diaz, per USA Today. “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.”
Recently, Diaz found himself in a hot-mic pickle. Twice in two months.
During the Angels’ 5-4 walkoff win over the Twins, the umpires reviewed Josh Lowe’s deep fly ball to check if it was a home run or a double. As the home plate umpire, it was Diaz’s responsibility to announce the double. He did, but he forgot to turn off the mic, and the first word he uttered was an F-bomb for the whole Angel Stadium to hear.
It was similar to what happened at Target Field on July 12. Diaz was umpiring another Twins-Angels game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter Wade Meckler hit a foul ball that struck Diaz in the groin area. He was in pain, and expletives flew.
Funny as it might be, it was certainly not something Diaz wanted, especially with so many kids visiting ball parks. But slip-ups can hardly define a career that weathered profound changes in the game and lasted three decades.
As the second Latino crew chief in MLB history and the former Marine Corps reservist retires, let’s have a look at how it all panned out.
The highlights of Laz Diaz’s Career
Laz Diaz’s career encompassed several eras of Major League Baseball. Before becoming an umpire, Diaz was an outfielder and a shortstop in the minor leagues.
To begin his umpiring career, Diaz attended the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School in 1991. He became a major league umpire in 1995 and assumed a full-time role in 1999. Diaz was eventually promoted to crew chief for the 2022 season.
His portfolio includes some of the biggest baseball games. Diaz umpired three World Series, worked the 2000 and 2010 All-Star Games, alongside multiple League Championship Series, Division Series, and Wild Card contests. Notably, Diaz has kept the lineup card of his first World Series game in 2007 between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies.
Diaz also worked the historic 2016 exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team in Havana. The veteran umpire was on the diamond for the 2009 and 2023 World Baseball Classics as well.
He will thank each member of the grounds crew one last time at Comerica Park and bid farewell to the game next week.
“I’ve been blessed,” Diaz told USA Today. “The Lord has definitely blessed me throughout my career. It was a great run. But now, it’s time.”
After Sunday’s game, Diaz will fly back to his home in Orlando, and instead of ballparks, we might find him fishing in Puerto Rico next.