Mets reliever Edwin Diaz‘s entrance song, “Narco,” became a phenomenon last year as he put together one of the most dominant seasons a closer has ever had.
Fans at Citi Field went nuts as soon as the first notes were played, which was always right before Diaz began his trot in from the bullpen in right field to the mound. Even Timmy Trumpet, the musician behind “Narco,” came to the ballpark for a live performance for one of Diaz’s saves.
While Diaz’s entrance has become iconic and taken on a life of its own, former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera — widely viewed as the best closer ever — said there’s no comparison between Diaz’s “Narco” and his former entrance song, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.
“There’s no comparison. There’s no comparison with that,” Rivera told Jennifer Williams of Fox 5. “That song was there for 17 years and many championships, so there’s no comparison.”
What’s interesting about the legend surrounding Rivera and “Enter Sandman” is that he didn’t care about the song, which was chosen for him by the Yankees during the 1999 season.
“I never said that I didn’t like it, but I didn’t care about the song,” Rivera told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com in 2011. “I didn’t pick the song. I don’t pay attention to the music. When I go in there, I’m going to business. I have a job to do, that’s it. It’s not part of my identity. People identify it [with me], but that’s it. I wouldn’t say that’s my identity. To tell you the truth, I have to do one thing. I go out there and pitch.”
There was some controversy in 2006 when Billy Wagner joined the Mets and used “Enter Sandman” as his entrance music, as he had done since 1999 when he was with the Houston Astros. The situation was blown out of proportion due in part to radio legend Mike Francesa, who got on Wagner for using the song.
Rivera didn’t care, and Wagner was incredulous.
“I know Mariano’s got it,” he told the New York Times. “Lord forbid, the earth should crumble if two people have it. I play for the Mets, he plays for the Yankees.”