Love of baseball in places such as Puerto Rico gave birth to the international stars who’ve helped resuscitate major-league baseball.

Marly Rivera of ESPN reported Thursday that Francisco Lindor, the captain of the Puerto Rican team and Diaz's Mets teammate, said this about the criticisms of Diaz playing, "I understand how Mets fans are hurting. But while for so many people the regular season is what counts, playing in the WBC means just as much to all of us.

"It is the dream of every Puerto Rican ballplayer to wear Puerto Rico’s colors and to represent our country. And not only Puerto Ricans, but every player in the WBC considers being here the ultimate honor.”

Love of baseball in places such as Puerto Rico gave birth to the international stars who’ve helped resuscitate major-league baseball. At the start of the 2022 season, more than 28% of major-league rosters were made up of players who were born outside the U.S., including the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. In addition, the world’s best player is Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, who has dazzled WBC fans with brilliant power and a 102-mph fastball. If it weren’t for players born elsewhere, American baseball would have died years ago.