Edwin Diaz speaks out on the 'Battle of Narco' with William Contreras
The "Battle of Narco" between New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz and Atlanta Braves catcher William Contreras became one of the most intriguing storylines between the two National League East rivals this past season.
“I said okay I will strike out this guy on three pitches.” #LGM
~ Edwin Díaz on the “Battle of Narco” against William Contreras. 🎺 https://t.co/zzopEzh2u7
I said okay I will strike this guy out on three pitches. ~ Edwin Díaz on the “Battle of Narco” against William Contreras. -- @genymets
"Narco", a riveting amp-up song by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet, is known by most who follow baseball as the theme that blasts from the Citi Field speakers as Edwin Diaz emerges from the Mets bullpen to close out a game.
However, the song is also used as the walk-up song by Braves backstop William Contreras, who has long been known more for being the brother of Chicago Cubs All-Star catcher Willson Contreras before coming into his own this past campaign.
The two worlds collided in a game between the Mets and Braves at SunTrust Field in Atlanta on October 2. Edwin Diaz was two outs into a would-be save and a 5-3 New York win when Braves manager Brian Snitker called on William Contreras to pinch hit.
Braves fans rose to their feet, air-playing trumpets and dancing as Diaz looked on with a bemused annoyance, before proceeding to swiftly strikeout Conteras on a fastball and two sliders to end the game and squelch Atlanta's joy.
He spoke of the incident with baseball analyst Rob Friedman during an interview on YouTube on November 23.
"I said okay, I will strike this guy out on three pitches," Diaz told Friedman.
His words rang true.
Edwin Diaz is well known, William Conteras is on the way up
Edwin Diaz has become a force out of the back of the Mets bullpen the past two seasons, after initially struggling in New York following a 2018 trade from the Seattle Mariners.
Diaz has 32 saves in each of the last two seasons for the Mets. He has logged a 1.31 ERA this past campaign. This is his best in any full season of a seven-year major league career.
However, William Contreras became a name in Atlanta this past season -- his third major league campaign. He made the All-Star Game while hitting 20 home runs with a .278 average in 2022.
Battle likely to rage on
The "Battle of Narco" is still likely in its early stages. Diaz just re-upped with the Mets through 2027, and Contreras is not eligible for free agency until 2028. So there may be many more battles to come.
For what it is worth, Idir Makhlaf of Blasterjaxx has his opinion on who the song belongs to:
"For us, Edwin is the official one, that’s for sure," he told MLB Network. "You can’t have more, right? That’s impossible. You have to choose your own song."