Xavier Roger
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PHOENIX — New York Mets infielders Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil were sitting on the bench Wednesday night at Chase Field, watching Team USA battle for a quarterfinal WBC berth, when coach Michael Young walked over to see them.
“I got some really bad news,’’ Young said.
And the words slowly trickled out of his mouth.
Their beloved Mets’ teammate, All-Star closer, Edwin Diaz, injured his right knee in the celebration of Puerto Rico’s victory over the Dominican Republic.
There was no word on how serious the injury is, and no one wanted to speculate, but it looked horrific, the kind of injury that can end a season.
The Mets will have Diaz undergo MRI tests on Thursday to determine the severity.
“Just really heartbreaking,’’ Alonso said. “We know how hard he’s worked, and how hard he’s performed on the team. I just feel horrible for him. He’s worked really hard to get where he’s at.
“I mean, he was just an absolute force last year. Such a great teammate. I feel frustrated for him. We’re going to miss him for sure.’’
USA! USA! Trout propels USA past Colombia, advances to WBC quarterfinals
Diaz, who turns 29 on March 22, is regarded as baseball’s best closer. He saved 32 games last season, striking out 118 batters in just 62 innings, yielding a 1.31 ERA. The Mets signed him to a five-year, $102 million contract, the most paid to a reliever, before he hit free agency.
“It’s a fluke thing, a sad scene.’’ Mets reliever Adam Ottavino said. “It could have happened in any type of situation, regardless. I don’t think it’s the tournament’s fault.
“It’s awful. I know what it meant to him to be in that situation, and for Puerto Rico. I know what kind of kid he is. I know how hard he works. I know how much he cares. I know what he means to Puerto Rico and the Mets.
“It’s a gut punch.’’
Here he was in Miami, coming into the game in the ninth inning with horns blaring and “Narco” playing over the loudspeakers. He struck out the side, preserving Puerto Rico’s 5-2 victory, and igniting a wild celebration.
Seconds later, the celebration stopped, with Diaz crumbled on the ground, withering in pain.
There was no music in the Puerto Rico clubhouse, only hushed tones.
“Quiet,” Puerto Rico outfielder Enrique Hernandez said, describing the scene. “As excited as we were about the game and all that, that’s one of our brothers. Some of us grew up together and all that. It’s real easy to set aside the game and worry about us as humans. ’’
Diaz’s injury even dampened Team USA’s enthusiasm after their 3-2 victory over Colombia, with word quickly quickly spreading after the game.
“I hate it,’’ USA reliever Daniel Bard said. “I hate seeing anybody get hurt, and I really hate seeing it happen to one of the great of our game. He’s got the most electric stuff the game has ever seen.
“When guys like him and [starter Jacob] deGrom get hurt, man. Even watching them across the field, you just appreciate how hard it is what they do, and how rare it is, too.’’
The injury set social media in a tizzy, with folks blaming the World Baseball Classic for Diaz’s injury, threatening the Mets’ season.
The cold-hearted reality was that no player believed it was anything but a fluke injury.
‘I don’t think you can blame the tournament for that,’’ Bard said. “It’s a fluke thing. It could have happened during a workout in a weight room.’’
Said Alonso: “Every day you show up at the yard, there’s a possibility of getting hurt. There’s hazards in the job. Anyone can get hurt at any given time.’’
So to condemn the WBC, to believe the timing of the tournament led to Diaz’s injury and to think it will keep players away future, is wrong.
“I mean, those things,’’ USA outfielder Mookie Betts said, “they can happen to anybody at any given time. And you can always try and place blame on the WBC, but that’s just a freak accident.”
Said USA teammate Mike Trout: “Obviously there’s risk involved. You’re still playing baseball, and it’s spring training.’’
The WBC will go on, and so will Puerto Rico, who will be back on the field Friday to play Mexico in the quarterfinals.
There will be pain, and plenty of sadness, but no one is blaming Diaz’s injury on anything other than a fluke. Guys get excited after big victories all of the time. There have been plenty of injuries caused in wild clubhouse celebrations.
This just happened to be at the WBC, on a national stage, for all of the world to see.
“He has a really big bank account,’’ Hernandez said, “but his heart is way bigger than his bank account is. He’s one of the really special human beings we got in that clubhouse.
“I mean, it doesn’t matter who it would have been, it would have sucked either way, but the fact that it was him, it’s just a big blow in more ways than one.’’
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