Scott Diamond

[William Malone]

Scott Michael Diamond was born on July 30, 1986 in Canada.

The Atlanta Braves signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He reached Triple-A in 2010. The Minnesota Twins selected him in the Rule-5 Draft that off-season. He didn't initially make the Twins roster out of camp, but they traded pitching prospect Billy Bullock to Atlanta in order to forgo Rule-5 stipulations and keep Diamond in their farm system.

Diamond began 2011 in Triple-A. He was called up to make his Major League debut on July 18th, allowing four runs over 6.1 innings during a 6-3 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays. Minnesota optioned him back to the minors after the game, but Diamond was called back up in late August to finish out the season in the big league rotation. He finished out the year with a 5.08 ERA in seven starts. His first Major League win came on August 31st against the Chicago White Sox.

He started 2012 back in Triple-A, but was quickly called up after a hot start. Diamond tossed seven shutout innings in a win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on May 8th. He did the same in his next start on May 13th against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadian lefty continued to pitch well, finishing July with a 2.88 ERA through 15 starts. This included a three hit shutout against the Cleveland Indians on July 27th. Regression came around in the final two months, and Diamond finished out the year with a 3.54 ERA across 27 starts. He led the American League by allowing just 1.6 walks per nine innings. The Minnesota chapter of the BBWAA elected him the Twins most outstanding pitcher and most outstanding rookie. He's one of three pitchers to win both awards in the same season, joining Doug Corbett in 1980 and Jhoan Duran in 2022.

Diamond had arthroscopic surgery on his pitching elbow during the off-season, and began 2013 on the disabled list. He was activated in mid-April, but couldn't recreate his rookie year success. Diamond wound up going 6-13 with a 5.43 ERA in 24 starts that year. The Twins removed him from the 40-man roster during the off-season, but he remained in the farm system after clearing waivers. Minnesota released Diamond in July after he posted a 6.53 ERA in 15 starts at the Triple-A level.

He spent the next few years bouncing around in several minor league systems, eventually resurfacing at the big league level with Toronto in 2016. Diamond made only one appearance for the Blue Jays, allowing three runs during a one inning relief outing. He retired after spending 2017 pitching professionally in Korea.

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