Mets' Edwin Diaz: Hitters know they're in trouble when they play my song
The summer of 2022 will largely be remembered for two things as it pertains to MLB: New York Yankees All-Star slugger Aaron Judge destroying baseballs and pursuing multiple records, and the "Narco" walkout song utilized by New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz that repeatedly went viral, was used for a social-media challenge, and resulted in the artist known as Timmy Trumpet attending a Mets home game to play Diaz out of the bullpen:
Diaz became arguably the league's most dominant relief pitcher heading into the fall months, and he helped grow the "Narco" legend more and more seemingly with each of his home appearances. The 28-year-old spoke with ESPN's Jeff Passan for a piece about closers and their dramatic entrances about how it's felt to hear the roars from Citi Field crowds whenever "Narco" has blasted over the venue's speakers during his journeys to the bump.
"At that moment, I'm just locking in to do my job," Diaz explained. "But at the same time, I see the reaction from the fans. It's like I'm on another planet when they play that song. When I walk from the bullpen to the mound, I can feel the energy. It pushes me to do my job even better.
"I can see it. When they play my song, [hitters] know they're in trouble. Because I'm coming in."
Diaz has done his job as well as anybody in the business since the spring. Per ESPN stats, he began Friday tied for seventh in all of MLB with 31 saves on the campaign, and he held a 1.40 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with 110 strikeouts across 58.0 innings of work.
The first-place Mets, meanwhile, went into the evening hours holding a 1.5-game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings. Both clubs have already clinched playoff berths.
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