Mets' Jeff McNeil, Edwin Diaz happy to be All-Stars once again

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood is full of homecoming stories as well as tales of redemption, and the All-Star scripts for Jeff McNeil and Edwin Diaz are two of the better ones on display at this week’s Midsummer Classic.

Take McNeil, who grew up a Dodgers fan not far from Chavez Ravine, played college baseball at Long Beach State and used to attend “a lot of games” on a friend’s season tickets. As McNeil talked about the experience, he pointed up to the stadium’s second deck, where the seats were “blue section, first-base side, first row.”

Just like that, McNeil seemed transported back to his childhood, and you could sense why this All-Star Game means so much to him. This is his second appearance — he went in 2019 as a reserve outfielder — but this time he is in the starting lineup at second base, batting ninth.

“It going to be pretty cool to be on the field, kind of look up and see where I used to sit,” McNeil said.

While the All-Star Game is always a goal, McNeil said it was on his mind much earlier this year, and not only because of the location. Last year was a personally frustrating one, his career worst by just about every statistical measure, and McNeil realized he was at a tipping point to restore his reputation.

He earned this return trip with numbers that better define him as a player: a slash line of .300/.362/.418 while splitting time between second base and the outfield. He also became a first-time dad with the birth of a son just last week, and the All-Star Game will be Lucas’ ballpark debut.

“It’s not like I tried to change my game or anything,” McNeil said. “I just don’t think I was in a very good place last year. Mentally and physically, I wasn’t in the place to succeed.

“So I put a lot of work into my offseason, make sure my body was right and then simplify things to try to get back to being the player I knew I could be and was. I haven’t gone through the whole season yet, but I’m happy where I’m at right now.”

The same goes for Diaz, who rode a roller-coaster of emotions during his first three years in Flushing before finally getting this invite to Los Angeles.

With Robinson Cano released in May by the Mets — who are on the hook for his remaining $38 million — Diaz was left to salvage that 2018 trade with the Mariners. He is 20-for-24 in save chances with a 1.69 ERA and leads all relievers with an 18.08 K/9 ratio.

“It means a lot for me,” Diaz said. “When they traded for me, they traded for an All-Star pitcher. My career with the Mets didn’t start out the way I wanted it to, and that was one of my main goals: to be an All-Star before leaving the team. I’m a free agent this year, and now the fans know they traded for an All-Star.”

Diaz quickly mentioned that he would prefer to remain with the Mets. It’s just a matter of not knowing what’s going to happen in the future — and his timing couldn’t be better. Diaz, 28, is lining himself up for a new contract that should surpass Raisel Iglesias’ four-year, $58 million deal signed last December.

“I would love to stay,” he said. “I love the team. The culture we created here now is really, really good. At the same time, if I don’t have the chance to come back, that’s fine. This is a business. But I would love to stay in New York.”

Diaz was an All-Star in 2018, his last with the Mariners, and clearly is enjoying this second trip. He even had an All-Star design shaved into the left side of his head, behind his ear.

“I told him to do something different, we’re at the All-Star Game,” Diaz said. “So he put a few stars in my hair.”

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.