MLB Alumni: Scott Diamond

Scott Diamond was another big-time arm that came through the Team Ontario program in the early 2000s and he may go down as the best left-hander to ever come out of the program.

Diamond, now 34-years-old, attended Binghamton University following his time with Team Ontario and was named named the America East Conference Rookie of the Year in 2005. His legacy will live forever within the confines of Binghamton as he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2013 and was the first player in program history to reach the major leagues.

The Guelph, Ontario native signed with the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent in August of 2007 while his first true action in pro baseball came the following summer. Diamond was dominant in his first year in the Braves system as he went 15-3 with 2.89 ERA and racked up 123 strikeouts to 39 walks. 

That season earned him a promotion to Double-A in 2009 and by 2010 he was up to Triple-A in the Braves organization. Following the 2010 season, Diamond was selected by the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft and Minnesota is ultimately where he made his mark as a professional.

Diamond pitched 123 innings in Triple-A in 2011 and eventually earned the call to the big leagues on July 18, 2011 when he took the mound against the Cleveland Indians. Diamond threw 6.1 innings while allowing 3 earned runs and picking up one strikeout. He finished the year with the Twins throwing a total of 39 innings over seven games. 

The following two seasons were spent almost entirely with the big league club as Diamond threw 173 innings for the Twins in 2012 leading to a 3.54 ERA, his best season in the MLB. In 2013 he tossed another 131 innings for the Twins but the ERA climbed from the previous season and he was eventually released and quickly picked up by the Cincinnati Reds just five days later. 

Diamond found his way back to his hometown Toronto Blue Jays where he would throw his final big league inning, a one inning appearance against the Phillies in June 2016. 

Beyond pro baseball, Diamond pitched for Team Canada at the 2009 World Baseball Classic where he made one appearance out of the bullpen, pitching three innings against Team Italy in the Rogers Centre.

The Team Ontario alumnus closed out his career overseas after signing a one-year deal with SK Wyverns in the KBO League.