Yesterday, Puerto Rico ended up pulling the most shocking upset of the World Baseball Classic thus far when they defeated Dominican Republic. However, the main storyline of the game was what came afterwards when Team Puerto Rico was celebrating their victory. During the team’s celebration on the field, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz hurt his knee, having to be wheelchaired off the field. Today, it has been revealed that Diaz had torn his patellar. With him undergoing surgery, he is expected to be out for the entire season. You heard that right. Edwin Diaz, who is perhaps the most elite closer in Major League Baseball, is done for the year.
One thing that has to be made clear is that this was just a simple accident. This is the kind of thing that can happen to anyone at anytime. Whenever anyone wants to celebrate anything and act all crazy or excited because of it, that can always lead to an unintentional injury. Just ask the Brewers in 2021 after they lost one of their best relievers in Devin Williams because he messed up his hand during the teams’ division-clinching celebration. You would think the lesson here is to be more careful when you are goofing around so an incident like this doesn’t happen again in the near future, right? Well, not according to certain folks with a social media platform.
The main take way from many folks is that the World Baseball Classic is a dumb idea and needs to be banned entirely to avoid any possible injuries from big players. Never mind the fact that Diaz’s injury took place AFTER a game was played and not DURING it. We just have to accept that this injury could have never ever happened during a typical spring training game because……it just wouldn’t. While I can possibly understand a few reasons for people’s reasoning that the WBC should not be played from well-known players in the MLB, I can’t help put feel like people complaining about it is more about them trying to find a convenient scapegoat to cover up a player’s mistake rather than they actually believe that the WBC is a threat to a player’s safety.
Granted, this isn’t the first injury from someone during the WBC. A few days ago, Los Angeles Dodgers’s first baseman Freddie Freeman, had to leave a game due to a hamstring injury. Even then, it has been reported by Freeman himself that he doesn’t believe it to be a concern and can continue playing shortly. You could possible fault that one on the WBC if you want to. However, hamstring injuries can happen at any given moment. Whether you are playing an exhibition game, WBC game, a regular season game, or even just doing your daily exercise routines that you might end up pulling something. As much as you could put the fault on the WBC for that, you can also fault literally ANYTHING else for that.
Going back to Edwin Diaz, it is undeniably terrible what happen to him. No matter what team you are a fan of, you should not root for someone as talented as him to be gone for the whole season due to an injury that didn’t even happen during a live baseball game. However, it would be foolish to claim the WBC is the cause of this and not strictly because of a reckless action on the part of Diaz himself. He is after all a fully-grown adult who has responsibilities of his own to pitch the best and hardest he can for his team back in America. You can put as much blame on Diaz himself just as much as the WBC if you want to.
If we are going by that logic, then does that mean that we have to find every excuse when a player gets hurt during matters that are not on the ballfield. Remember when Fernando Tatis Jr. got knocked out for the beginning of last year due to a motorcycle accident. Are we just suppose to blame the company behind those motorcycles for that accident or for the Padres not having a team camp during the offseason which could have prevent that? How about when Aroldis Chapman crack his tooth and splits his lip when he felt down in his own home? Are we suppose to blame the house himself or could the Royals have just set up Spring Training beforehand which would have not allowed that to happen? Unless you are looking for the worst scapegoat imaginable, the fault should be on the players for not being careful enough and nothing else. That’s how I see Edwin Diaz in this situation.
And do I even need to bring up when Mariano Rivera tore his ACL shagging fly balls or when Kendrys Morales broke his ankle celebrating a grand slam?
Every player in any sports are well aware of the risks that can come when playing the sport that they love. There is always some kind of injury or freak accident that could due potential damage to their career. Regardless if it’s on the field or off of it, anything can happen at anytime. However, athletes chose to pursue the sport they want to play because they want the chance of a life changing opportunity. You think they would want to back out just because their scared of a certain injury that could derail them. If any star player acted in that mindset, they would never get to where they are today because they would have likely backed off of that amazing opportunity because of it.
When it comes to the WBC, if you take Mookie Betts’s and Mike Trout’s word for it, then I’m fairly certain that every player of any league is grateful to represent their country during this world-wide tournament. They known that there is likely a risk of an injury but they believe the risk is worth taking because there is a good chance they won’t get a chance like this ever again. While I can’t speak for the man himself, I’m sure Edwin Diaz would agree exactly with what I’m saying. He’s not so much thinking that he made a mistake in playing for Puerto Rico before the main season starts, he’s thinking of how much of an idiot he was for not being careful enough during the celebration on the field. And I really hope that’s what most folks are thinking off after this injury and not thinking it could have been avoided if the WBC wasn’t a thing.
Regardless, Edwin Diaz just underwent surgery to repair patellar tendon and will be out for the entire season. I wish Diaz himself a speedy recovery. May the trumpets be with you!
Adam's Blog 