NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Central League names players of the week

July 18, 2005 - Central Baseball League (Central League) News Release


SportsTicker, the official statistician of the Central League, has named El Paso INF Jorge Diaz and Fort Worth RHP Mike Smith batter and pitcher of the week, respectively, for the week of July 11-17.

Diaz, 30, was 14-for-23 in a six-game span for El Paso, with a double, a triple and seven RBIs. He slugged .739 over those six games with an on-base percentage of .679. El Paso is 4-2 for the week. On July 12, Diaz went 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs to lead El Paso to a 12-6 win over Edinburg. He's currently second in the league with a .350 batting average after San Angelo's Jorge Alvarez (.355), tied for second in triples (6), first in on-base percentage (.452) and first in runs (67). He's collected 82 hits, 30 RBIs and 14 steals in 21 chances.

Diaz, a Cuban-born Miami resident, is in his sixth year of professional baseball and his fourth in independent ball. The Rangers signed him as a nondrafted free agent in 2000. He was released at the end of 2001 after stints with Charlotte of the Florida State League and the Rangers of the Gulf Coast League. In 2002, he batted .322 for Allentown of the Northern League. Last year he split time between San Angelo of the Central League and Somerset of the Atlantic League, amassing 120 hits in 109 games.

Smith, 41, pitched a seven-inning shutout in the first game of Fort Worth's doubleheader with Pensacola on July 17. The Cats won, 2-0, thanks to Smith' s seven innings of one-hit ball, during which he allowed only two walks while striking out five. Fort Worth went 4-2 over the last six games. Smith is tied for second in the league in wins with teammate Kevin Lynn (8), is tied for first in complete games (3) and shutouts (2). He sports an 8-4 record with a 4.20 ERA, and has 78 strikeouts in 90 innings of work. He leads a pitching staff that is second in the league in ERA, at 4.14, to Coastal Bend.

Smith, a native of San Antonio, is in his 21st season of pro ball. He's played for 15 different teams in his career, including the Cincinnati Reds in 1985 and the Baltimore Orioles in 1989 and '90. He's in his eighth season in the Texas-Louisiana/Central League, and is the CBL's all-time wins (79) and strikeouts (1,082) leader.

• Discuss this story on the Central Baseball League message board...

Central Baseball League Stories from July 18, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central