Someone Celebrated His Baseball Win a Little Too Hard

Mets closer Edwin Diaz may be out for season after hurting knee in World Baseball Classic celebration
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 16, 2023 10:23 AM CDT
MLB Star Injures Himself Celebrating a Tournament Win
Puerto Rico pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) is helped off the field after a World Baseball Classic game against the Dominican Republic on Wednesday in Miami.   (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)

New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz suffered a possibly season-ending injury Wednesday at a World Baseball Classic game, but it wasn't during the game itself. The Wall Street Journal reports that Diaz, 28, finished off the ninth inning during the international tournament in Miami for Puerto Rico's 5-2 win against the Dominican Republic, which led to a celebration on the field. However, as Diaz and his teammates—including his younger brother Alexis Diaz, a Cincinnati Reds pitcher—jumped up and down with joy at moving on to the tourney's quarterfinals, the elder Diaz suddenly fell to the ground, seemingly clutching his right knee.

Fox Sports shows a video of what happened, though it's hard to see Diaz among the pack of celebrants, as well as the aftermath, with somber-looking teammates on the field as medical pros examined Diaz. The pitcher, recently signed by the Mets to a five-year, $102 million contract, was taken off the field in a wheelchair, his brother weeping. Later that evening, the Mets confirmed in a tweet that Diaz had injured his right knee and would be undergoing imaging on Thursday to assess the damage.

CBS News notes that MLB players who take part in the WBC have to be insured, and that Diaz isn't the first pro to miss time playing during the regular season due to injuries sustained in the tournament. "It's a fluke thing," Team USA reliever Daniel Bard, a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, per USA Today. "It could have happened during a workout in a weight room." Puerto Rico next plays Mexico in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Mets says it will provide an update on Diaz, who turns 29 on Wednesday, "when appropriate." (More sports injuries stories.)

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