Juan Diego Arteaga Jr. (born August 2, 1974) is an American college baseball coach and currently the head coach for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team. Arteaga previously played collegiately and was an associate coach for Miami before becoming head coach.
After graduating from Westminster Christian School,[1] Arteaga chose to play baseball at the University of Miami. While at Miami, Arteaga became the program leader in wins with 43, and games started with 72.[2] Miami reached the College World Series all four years Arteaga played there. After his professional career ended, Arteaga received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Miami.
Arteaga was drafted by the New York Mets in the 26th round of the 1997 MLB Draft. Arteaga played for both Mets[3] and Houston Astros minor league organizations but never made a start in the major league.[4]
In 2003, after signing with a minor league team for the Texas Rangers, Arteaga received an offer as an associate coach for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team, which he accepted.[5] In 2016, rumors circulated that Arteaga might take the head coaching job at FIU for baseball, but Arteaga stayed with Miami.[6][7] While associate coach at Miami, Arteaga specialized as a pitching coach, with him coaching pitchers including: Andrew Walters, Carson Palmquist, Chris McMahon, Slade Cecconi, Bryan Garcia, Andrew Suárez, Carlos Gutiérrez, and Cesar Carrillo.[8] In 2023, after the resignation of head coach Gino DiMare, it was announced that Arteaga would become the next head coach for Miami.[9][10][11] In his first game as head coach, Miami rallied in the ninth inning and hit a walk-off hit for his first win as head coach.[12][13]
Arteaga is married to his wife, Ysha, and has a daughter, Ariana. In 2018, Arteaga's son Ari was killed in a car crash at the age of 16.[14][15] In his honor, Arteaga and his family created the "Be the Light" foundation, a nonprofit organization that awards scholarships and resources to those in need.[16][17]
Arteaga is close friends with Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez and Arteaga were teammates at Westminster Christian School, with Arteaga saying to Sports Illustrated regarding Rodriguez's talent, "We knew he'd be a good player, but no one saw him being what he is."[18] The two diverged when Arteaga was in college with Rodriguez's ascent to the major leagues, but they still keep in touch.[19] Along with Rodriguez, Arteaga is also close friends with Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Arteaga and Cora bonded at Miami, where they played baseball together.[20] Upon learning of the death of Ari, Cora invited the Arteaga family to Boston so they could get away from Miami and be together. Ysha said regarding Cora's invitation, "Cora called at a good time."[21]
On February 5, 2003, Miami retired Arteaga's uniform No. 33 for baseball;[22] he was inducted into the Miami Hurricanes Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.[23]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
