Rockies' Diaz named All-Star Game MVP after hitting game-winning HR

Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz won the Ted Williams Award as MVP of the 2023 MLB All-Star Game after hitting the game-winning home run in the eighth inning of a 3-2 National League victory.

Diaz entered the game as a pinch hitter for designated hitter Jorge Soler in the top of the eighth. The fifth pitch of the at-bat from AL pitcher Felix Bautista was an 87-mph splitter that Diaz ripped over the right-field wall.

Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., who won the award at the 2001 All-Star Game in Seattle, presented Diaz with his trophy.

He finished the game 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a strikeout.

Diaz's blast was the sixth go-ahead homer while trailing in the eighth inning or later in All-Star history and the first such long ball from a National League player since Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt in 1981, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

He's the first Rockies player to win All-Star MVP honors. Diaz is also the sixth primary catcher to take home the award, joining Brian McCann (2010), Sandy Alomar Jr. (1997), Mike Piazza (1996), Terry Steinbach (1988), and two-time winner Gary Carter (1981, 1984).

Diaz is one of the most unlikely heroes in All-Star history. Originally signed out of Venezuela by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008, Diaz was non-tendered before the 2020 season after several middling years in black and gold. Only then did he find his way to the Rockies, where he became their primary catcher.

The 32-year-old became emotional while talking about his mother, who was in Seattle to watch him play as an All-Star for the first time.

"It was incredibly special for me to have her here. A lot of emotions, with everything that we've been through, all the sacrifices she made for me, it was really special to have her here for me," Diaz told Fox Sports' Kevin Burkhardt through an interpreter.

Diaz is in the midst of a career-best season for Colorado, hitting .277/.328/.435 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs.