Jordan Schafer’s suspension shocked Matt Diaz

Last April, with Jordan Schafer feeling the enormity of his 50-game suspension for a banned substance, he got a phone call that changed his life.

It was Braves left fielder Matt Diaz, making sure he was OK.

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CURTIS COMPTON/ccompton@ajc.com

Braves center fielder Jordan Schafer, left, and left fielder Matt Diaz, right, share a laugh in the dugout.

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Schafer, the hot prospect with a center field spot waiting on him, had been in spring training with the Braves but hadn’t gotten close to many teammates. He admittedly rubbed some the wrong way with his cocky persona — the Hummer, the Nike contract and the occasional sparkly T-shirt.

But Diaz had known Schafer since he was in the eighth grade, playing high school baseball with Diaz’s younger brother. They had hit together in the offseason because both live in the Winter Haven, Fla., area.

“I hurt for him,” Diaz said. “I knew how much time and effort he’d put into it. It wasn’t one of those guys who you hear gets busted and you’re immediately like ‘Oh I knew it’ because they don’t work hard. I was shocked.”

With that call, their relationship changed.

“Our friendship went to a different level,” Diaz said.

There is no test for human growth hormone, and Schafer denies ever taking it, but he was linked to it and admitted to “hanging with the wrong people.”

“If you hang around dogs long enough, you’re going to catch fleas,’ ” Schafer explained.

Diaz was just the friend he needed.

Diaz is known in the Braves clubhouse for being humble and down-to-earth, with a strong Christian faith. If there was anyone to lead Schafer down the right path, this was the guy.

In some ways, associating with Schafer was a risk for Diaz and his reputation. But that never stopped him.

“A younger me — if someone gets suspended, a prospect especially, I was never a prospect — I would have been like, ‘Good, give someone else a chance,’ ” Diaz said. “But I think I’ve grown up a lot as a person, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do for him.”

One thing Schafer noticed immediately was Diaz didn’t ask a lot of questions about why he was suspended.

“No,” Schafer said. “Not to this day. … I knew he wouldn’t judge me. I could have an honest conversation with him, and everything would be OK.”

They hung out together in Class AA Mississippi when Diaz went there on a rehabilitation assignment last year, and it carried over into the offseason.

They’d hit together several times a week. They played pingpong at Diaz’s house. One Sunday late in the offseason, Schafer went to church with Diaz.

They talked about how to move forward from the suspension.

“Being able to talk with Matt, I don’t have any anger about it anymore,” Schafer said. “I’ve moved on. I’m totally content with the way things have been. Like he says, things happen for a reason. You have to be able to put your faith in God and let everything work itself out.”

Going on Diaz’s advice, Schafer wore collared shirts to the ballpark in spring training. He gave away his flashy red glove.

Diaz explained part of what he’d be judged on for the center field job was his maturity and how he reacted to what he’d been through.

“I can’t explain how much he’s helped me in the last year,” Schafer said. “One of the reasons I’m here right now and not in (Class AAA) Gwinnett is because of him.”

Schafer homered in his first major league at-bat, just after Diaz had finished telling catcher Clint Sammons in the dugout that Schafer was the kind of youngster who would do just that.

“You can’t help but be happy and proud for him,” Diaz said.

Because of Diaz, Schafer knows rookies wear ties on the road, not just the suit jacket, and sit farther up in the plane. The two often eat together on the road.

“Most of the time the person I hang out with is him,” Schafer said. “It’s a safe zone for me. It’s someone I trust that’s not going to steer me in the wrong direction.”

Schafer wears a mouthguard now, like Diaz.

“I hit a home run my first at-bat (of spring training) with a mouthguard, so I think he liked it,” Diaz said.

Schafer knew he’d taken the friendship far when he felt himself lean back once in the batter’s box like Diaz does.

He laughed, stepped out, and got back into his routine.

When he told Diaz about it, Diaz responded: “It’s all right. If it helps, do it.”