On Wednesday night, Puerto Rico eliminated pre-tournament favourite Dominican Republic from the World Baseball Classic in order to progress to the quarterfinals. However, what transpired following the final out captured the attention of everyone in attendance.
Edwin Diaz, the closer for the New York Mets, hurt his right knee during the celebrations after the victory. He was helped off the field and wheeled into the clubhouse in a wheelchair.
In order to defeat the Dominican Republic, Diaz struck out the opposition. Teoscar Hernández was then fanned to end the game. In the euphoria, teammates ran to the mound and embraced Diaz, who had been hurt. Wednesday night, the Mets revealed that Diaz would have imaging Thursday.
When the Mets’ Diaz was called out of the bullpen to the sound of trumpets from the song “Narco” by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet, he instantly became a household name.
For a New York squad that won 101 games in 2022, the 28-year-old pitcher with a 1.31 ERA received Cy Young and MVP votes. He agreed to a new five-year, $102 million contract with the Mets during the winter, which was the biggest bullpen pitcher contract ever.
Alexis Diaz, another pitcher for the Puerto Rico team, wept as Edwin was led off the field.
After the game, Kiké Hernandez of Puerto Rico said, “[Edwin Diaz] is one of the glue men in that clubhouse. “While he has a sizable money account, his heart is much larger than his wallet. He is one of the truly unique people we have in that clubhouse.”
“I was at a loss for words and didn’t know how to act. I mean, I was clueless. It caught me off guard, “Yadier Molina, the manager for Puerto Rico, commented later.
“That stinks, sorry, but when you see a man who works so hard like Edwin, I mean when you see him on the ground like that, I mean it just is terrible,” the pitcher stated in the dugout.
