New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz was transfixed by the men’s gold-medal basketball game over the weekend. He watched as Steph Curry drained a flurry of 3s in the final three minutes of play against France.

As Diaz watched the game’s top players standing on the podium wearing their gold medals, he couldn’t help but think of how it would feel to be there as well.

“It was a great game with the best players playing,” Diaz told the New York Daily News. “It was competitive — really competitive.”

The 2024 Olympic Games have come to a close and the conversation has turned to whether or not MLB will participate in the 2028 games in Los Angeles when baseball and softball will return.

The Mets are hoping the answer is yes, but they aren’t exactly holding their breath on it.

“It would be great, but I don’t think we’ll play,” said shortstop and World Baseball Classic vet Francisco Lindor. “I think it’ll be fantastic for the game. I think it will bring more exposure to the world and show how exciting it is, but I don’t think we’re going to get to play. There are a lot of challenges and hurdles — big-time challenges and big-time hurdles because we have to stop the season.”

Baseball and the Olympics have a contentious history. The sport was previously part of the games but former commissioner Bud Selig didn’t want to stop the season to allow major leaguers to take part in the games. Owners didn’t want to take the revenue hits and the dissenting players didn’t want a two-week work stoppage.

So, the World Baseball Classic was created to showcase the game globally and allow baseball players a way to play in a best-on-best global tournament and the IOC nixed America’s pastime.

But the two events just can’t compare.

“The WBC is such a great event — a wonderful event,” said WBC alum Pete Alonso. But when you see the five rings, I mean, that’s truly iconic.”

Baseball players want the experience of being in the Olympic Village and the camaraderie that comes with being around elite athletes in various sports. They want to experience the energy and the atmosphere, they want to have the eyes of the world on them.

The WBC saw record viewership last year, but any event held in the spring will still have to compete with March Madness and NBA and NHL playoff races for viewers.

The timing could be favorable for fans and athletes.

“I think if you do a survey of players, there would be more players [in favor of participating] because it would be in the middle of the year,” Lindor said. “It’s not like March, where guys are like, ‘Oh, I’m not ready, I’m not built up.’ In the middle of the year, they’ll be more inclined to take two weeks off.”

After a hiatus, the NHL will return to the 2026 Olympics in Milan. The league will forgo its All-Star Game in favor of an extended break for Olympic competition, as it has done in the past.

The baseball season is considerably longer than the hockey season, so a two-week break in the middle of would require significant alterations. There are questions about insurance, travel and injury risk for non-Olympic and Olympic athletes alike.

“You figure it out,” said left-hander Sean Manaea. “It’s like any other break or offseason. You just keep in shape. You throw bullpens, throw live BPs.”

Manaea’s father is from American Samoa, which has a national team, and the lefty is intrigued by the possibility of honoring his heritage by pitching for them in the Olympics.

“I’d love to participate and be qualified for that,” Manaea said. “That’d be really cool.”

However, not all is well between the NHL and the Olympics. Commissioner Gary Bettman has been vocal about his opposition to participation. There was considerable anger in 2021 when the NHL pulled out of the 2022 Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns. It was understandable, but elite athletes might only get one or two chances at becoming an Olympian, which meant many missed their only window.

An NHL source told the The News that the NHLPA is nearly unanimous in their desire to return to the Winter Olympics. Hockey players may not always say this out loud, but for some, winning an Olympic medal is more important than winning a Stanley Cup. Any fourth-line grinder can be on a Cup-winning team, but only the absolute best athletes are selected to Olympic teams.

It’s considerably harder to win an Olympic medal.

It’s a true championship won for your country and the pinnacle of success. Baseball’s best want a piece of it.

“I think for guys from different parts of the world, baseball is a world game for them so to represent their country, I think would be incredibly special,” Alonso said. “And for us to grow the game, you have to be stewards and progress the sport any way possible. I think that’s a great way to do it.”

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