Braves Q&A with Matt Diaz

Do you want to know what Brave fell for an infomercial? Read on about Matt Diaz, his offseason weight loss, his “goofy” swing and his Christian upbringing.

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Rich Addicks/raddicks@ajc.com

Matt Diaz lost 30 pounds this offseason.

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Q. How did you lose 30 pounds this offseason?

A. I hate to admit it, but I did an infomercial. … My wife ordered P90X. I saw her doing her leg workout, and it was similar to stuff I did in rehab. I thought that’d be a good way to ease my way back into weightlifting. After a week you realize there’s no easing into that workout.

Q. You watch videos as you work out?

A. They send you 12 videos with 12 different workouts and a diet plan. If you want it, it gives you recipes for every meal, six meals a day …. We moved our kids upstairs out of the nursery and changed the nursery into a P90X room. We got a pull-up bar and dumbbells. … I’d do a P90X workout with my wife in the morning, a baseball workout in the afternoon and go jogging with my wife in the evening while dinner was crock-potting.

Q. So how would you describe that swing of yours?

A. Something that works for me, but I never teach it to anybody. I used to give hitting lessons when I was in the minor leagues and they’d be like, “Well, I see you do this,” and I’d be like, “No. No. No.” I feel like I can teach hitting OK, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance because everyone sees how goofy my swing is. But it’s helped me understand that not everybody hits one way.

Q. Where did leaning back come from?

A. It started when I was in Kansas City. They told me I was tight, so I was trying to do something to relax.

Q. So, you grew up the son of a minister?

A. Yes. [Dad] does mainly midweek Bible studies with businessmen. It’s called a parachurch ministry, meaning outside of a church. He would teach Sunday school classes at various churches and have open forums where people could ask questions anywhere from “My kid’s giving me a hard time” to “How do I know the Bible is true?”

Q. What was it like growing up in that environment?

A. I think the fact that he wasn’t truly a pastor, I don’t have the normal “PK [Preacher’s Kid]” rebellion. I wasn’t always being scrutinized by a church body like, “Oh, that’s the pastor’s kid.” It was cool because he could set his own hours, so he got to coach our soccer and T-ball teams.

Q. What was your welcome-to-the-majors moment?

A. My first at-bat in the major leagues. I hit a ground ball in the hole, and I thought for sure it was a hit. I couldn’t believe the shortstop fielded it, and I was like, “At least I’ll beat it out.” Then he threw me out at first by a step. It was Alex Rodriguez with the Rangers.

— Compiled by Carroll Rogers