WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Francisco Lindor was celebrating perhaps the greatest victory of his career.
His Team Puerto Rico had just upset and eliminated the World Baseball Classic-favorite Dominican Republic. The final was 5-2 and Lindor and double-play partner Javier Baez were hugging around second base, back to the infield when they turned 180 degrees — literally and metaphorically.
There was a player down near the mound on Wednesday night in Miami and at first Lindor did not know who it was since a huddle of concerned players had essentially formed a wall. But then the Mets shortstop saw “the cleats with the trumpets.” Then he knew. And in a few minutes the severity of the injury and the gravity of the moment and his devotion to Edwin Diaz would all manifest.
“It was heartbreaking,” Lindor said Monday night after his first game back with the Mets. “I never knew I loved Edwin so much until I couldn’t stop crying. And that’s when I realized I loved Edwin a lot. It’s one of those moments that you wish you could go back and kind of do it in slow motion that way no one goes through that. It broke my heart. It did not feel good. Edwin kind of calmed the team a little bit. He talked to us after the game. It was a very, very sad clubhouse.”
Lindor said he cried on the field. In the clubhouse. Back at the hotel.
The official diagnosis would come the next day — a torn right patellar tendon. But Lindor and everyone in the game knew that night how bad it was. That Diaz would likely be lost for the season. A few nights later, Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve, playing for Venezuela, incurred a broken thumb when hit by Team USA reliever Daniel Bard. Altuve is going to likely be sidelined for two months.
It renewed concerns about participation in a tournament that otherwise was receiving high grades, in particular, for the passion with which the players were performing and the enthusiasm of the crowds. That combination and notably playing for Puerto Rico left Lindor saying participation should remain high and personally expressing hope he can participate again in three years.
“We all care for each other and no one wants to get hurt,” Lindor said. “But we all love our countries and want to represent our countries. … Every time I have the opportunity to represent Puerto Rico and have Puerto Rico across my chest, I will give everything I’ve got. It’s not just representing Puerto Rico on its own. I represent Puerto Rico right now. And when I was on the field I was representing the Mets too. God gave me a talent and ability to play the game. And I’m super proud to be a New York Met. But I’m also super proud to be a Puerto Rican. Wherever I go I tell my mom, even the moon, I would be Puerto Rican. That is how proud I am of my roots. It’s who I am. It is a blessing and an honor and a privilege to be able to wear the country [uniform] where we are from.”
When asked if he could only win one — a World Series or a WBC title for Puerto Rico — which would he pick, Lindor said: “I’m not going to answer that question. It’s just not fair. It’s not a fair question because I want to win two, three, four World Series and two, three, four WBCs. I’ve lost both and it is not a good feeling. I can win both in one year. Why not? The WBC is not the case this year. Hopefully, I can conquer one of those.”
Obviously, the Mets’ road from here to the Canyon of Heroes became more difficult without Diaz. Yet, Lindor refused to lower the expectation.
“We have to focus on what we have,” Lindor said. “We have a really good team. A lot of guys are resilient. Are we going to miss Edwin? One-hundred percent we are. He’s a huge part of our team. I think he’s the best closer in the game. But we’re all professional. We all have a job to do. We gotta go out there and take care of business.”
As the Mets’ best all-around player and pseudo-captain, Lindor will have even a greater responsibility without Diaz; both on and off the field. In his return, Lindor went 1-for-3 in a 3-2 loss to Washington. While Buck Showalter mentioned that Omar Narvaez and Eduardo Escobar, who both also returned from the WBC, needed game action because they were not playing regularly in the tournament, the manager described Lindor as “ready to go.”
In fact, Lindor said the WBC not only left him physically ready to play, but that mixing with an All-Star-like team for a few weeks imbued him with a knowledge that is “unmatched.”
“To me we have an opportunity to represent our countries and learn from our peers,” Lindor said. “It’s amazing.”