The World Baseball Classic took an unfortunate turn moments after the exciting game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic ended on Wednesday.
Edwin Diaz, the superstar closer for the New York Mets, closed the game out for Puerto Rico. In celebration of the win (and advancing out of Pool play), the Puerto Rican team celebrated at the mound.
That celebration was quickly hushed when it became clear that Diaz was hurt in it. He was on the ground with his teammates on the Puerto Rican team calling for the trainers.
Diaz was aided off of the field and into a wheelchair. It looked like a season-ending injury at the time and on Thursday, that was confirmed.
And after the severity of his injury was revealed, Diaz shared a message of gratitude on Twitter while also looking forward to pitching again.
“To all my beloved fans, especially the Mets fans, I want to let you know that I am doing well and healing,” Diaz tweeted. “I feel blessed and grateful for your support with messages and prayers, thank you very much! I can’t wait to see you guys in NY again and play those trumpets.”
Diaz, who has received a lot of support and well wishes from the baseball world since his injury, received more following his statement.