New York Mets' closer Edwin Diaz made a triumphant return to the mound on Monday night during spring training.
After missing the last year because of a knee injury suffered in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Diaz came back to strike out the side during his first appearance. He entered to his familiar "Trumpets" theme music, and that wasn't even the best part of the night....
The best part was watching the reaction of his family to his return, which went viral on the internet.
Edwin Díaz's family had the best reaction to his #SpringTraining debut
(nashaly.diaz / IG)
They always say you need a great support system if you want to accomplish great things, and Diaz appears to have just that.
Diaz had 32 saves in 2022 with a 1.31 ERA, cementing himself as the most dominant closer in the game.
He started his career in the minor leagues as a starting pitcher with the Seattle Mariners but quickly became an excellent reliever, making the AL All-Star team in 2018 when he led the league with 57 saves. He was traded to the Mets after that 2018 season along with Robinson Cano in exchange for (most notably) Jarred Kelenic. The Mariners just traded Kelenic to the Braves this offseason.
Diaz signed a five-year contract before the 2023 season worth $102 million.
Lifetime he is 16-29 with a 2.93 ERA. He's thrown in 404 games and has 205 career saves, striking out a wicked 657 batters in 399.1 career innings.
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