Mets’ Edwin Díaz, Timmy Trumpet and “Narco” are forever linked

By Deesha Thosar
FOX Sports MLB Writer

NEW YORK – You can’t predict baseball, but this was not the way the Mets would have scripted it. 

Timmy Trumpet, an Australian musician and DJ, was in attendance for the series opener between the Dodgers and Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field. The plan was for Trumpet to play Edwin Díaz‘s entrance song — “Narco” by Trumpet and Dutch DJ duo Blasterjaxx — live in front of 40,607 fans. That could only happen, though, if Díaz entered the game.

With the Mets trailing the Dodgers 4-3 from the seventh inning to the final out, New Yok manager Buck Showalter had no reason to call the bullpen for his trusted closer. Thus, Díaz remained idle in the pen, and Trumpet … well, he got the experience of a lifetime out of his trip to Citi Field. 

“This is my first baseball game I’ve ever been to,” said Trumpet in a pronounced Aussie accent. “But I can tell you, I can assure you, I’m officially a Mets fan for life.”

Díaz began using “Narco” as his warmup song in 2018, when he played for the Seattle Mariners. The team gave him four or five songs to pick from, he liked “Narco” the best and rolled with it. Later that year, he won the American League’s Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year award for his major-league-leading 57 saves that season. 

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But in 2019, Díaz’s first year with the Mets, the closer scrapped “Narco” and chose a Puerto Rican song. It wasn’t until Díaz’s wife, Nashaly, suggested before the 2020 season he return to using “Narco” that the closer introduced the trumpets to Queens. But in that pandemic season, there were no fans in the stands. Only Díaz’s teammates and reporters in the press box could imagine what those bright riffs would sound like in a sold-out Citi Field. 

“The crowd just keeps getting wilder. It’s like a party when he walks out to that mound,” Trumpet recently told FOX Sports. “Nothing makes me happier! That is exactly what this song was meant to do.”

This year, with the Mets holding a 121-day grasp of first place in the National League East and fans flooding Flushing on a nightly basis, Díaz and “Narco” have taken off. Trumpet said when he and Blasterjaxx first collaborated on the song, he envisioned a horse galloping into battle. In many ways, Díaz jogging from the bullpen to the mound with “Narco” blaring to the delight of nearly 50,000 fans has brought that vision to life.

Trumpet told FOX Sports that he initially learned about “Narco” gaining popularity in the baseball world when “the absolute legend that is Edwin Díaz” caught the attention of his label. Trumpet’s tour manager, who is from Puerto Rico like Díaz, is a big fan of the Mets’ closer and kept telling the Aussie musician how dominant Díaz has been for the team. Trumpet only needed to see one video of the Citi Field crowd’s reaction to Díaz jogging onto the field to “Narco” to understand the raucous environment his music and the closer have created. 

“It’s absolutely insane,” Trumpet said in front of the Mets’ dugout on Tuesday. “It’s incredibly humbling and a great honor that a world-class athlete is using my song as inspiration to run on that pitch. This guy is such a professional. He could do this with any song. I’m very thankful to the Mets’ supporters and anyone that is adding this track to their playlist and supporting “Narco.” But most importantly, I want to thank Díaz because he’s the one that’s picked it.”

Trumpet reached out to Díaz this season once the song went viral, nearly five years after its release, and the two connected. The artist said Díaz has promised to attend one of his sets at an upcoming festival. No matter the day or the venue, Trumpet has included “Narco” in his performances since the song’s 2017 debut. 

Though Trumpet didn’t get the chance to play it live on Tuesday night, he did bring out his shiny gold trumpet before the game in a mostly empty Citi Field for a few practice sessions. Díaz interrupted Trumpet’s pregame tuneup and gifted him with a No. 39 jersey with “TRUMPET” on the back. Trumpet also threw out the first pitch Tuesday, then jumped into outfielder Tyler Naquin‘s arms. 

During the seventh-inning stretch, Trumpet surprised fans by playing an instrumental version of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Earlier, Trumpet said he had never before played music in a stadium as big as Citi Field. 

“It’s actually pretty cool to be in a stadium where you can hear it echoing around like that,” he said. “I’ve [got] goosebumps constantly right now. We just did Tomorrowland. We’re off to Singapore on Thursday. We’re constantly turning around. But in America, I’ve never had anything of this magnitude, and none of it has been possible without Díaz. I’m stoked to be here.”

Trumpet’s guest appearance with the Mets was originally limited to Tuesday, as his schedule will take him halfway across the world for his next tour in Singapore, then Thailand and later Italy. But there is at least the possibility that Trumpet will bring out his gold brass instrument and play “Narco” live on Wednesday. And, if the Mets make a postseason run and win the National League pennant, then there is one more trip to America in Trumpet’s future. 

“I can’t wait to see Díaz play this at the World Series for a victory,” Trumpet said. “I’ll be there for that one.” 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.