NEW YORK -- People began circling around the baseball field at East River Park, calling friends on their phones.
"Bring my Mets jersey," one said.
"You'll never guess who's here," another shouted.
On a fairly nondescript Thursday afternoon in July, in a fairly nondescript New York City park out by the East River, two baseball superstars -- Francisco Lindor and Edwin Díaz -- were hanging out in street clothes by a dugout usually reserved for weekend softball teams.
They weren't there to play, though. They were there to do something a little different, but just as cool as stepping into Citi Field in front of a sellout crowd: They were starring in a music video for Billboard-topping, Grammy-nominated producer Foreign Teck. The song, called "El Día de Mi Suerte" (loosely translated to "My Lucky Day"), features artists Eladio Carrión and De La Guetto. Comedian Radel Ortiz also appears as the catcher in the beginning skit.
"I'm really excited," Díaz, who knows a thing or two about hit songs, told me. "This is a new thing for me. I can't wait."
"Whenever you get an opportunity to help out and be part of something that can inspire generations, it's always cool," Lindor said. "I grew up watching music videos and listening to different artists that are part of who I am today."
Foreign Teck, whose real name is Michael Hernandez, has always loved music. But born in New York and raised in South Florida, the Dominican-American may have, at certain times, loved baseball and rec softball even more.
"There was a point in time where I didn't even wanna do music," Tek told me, twirling a bat in his hands. "I woke up every morning saying, 'I wanna go play softball.' I got over that. But I grew up playing baseball for like nine years and then started playing softball."
Teck was getting balls pitched to him before he could walk or talk. He currently plays for the No. 1 ranked slow-pitch softball team in Florida called Primetime. He's even participated in a softball tournament in Puerto Rico with good friend and three-time All-Star Vlad Guerrero Jr.
And during the 2023 All-Star Weekend in Seattle, Teck showed off his softball prowess at the Celebrity Game. He blasted two mammoth home runs that completely cleared the makeshift fences and reached the warning track at T-Mobile Park.
"That [real wall] was like 370-something," Teck said, laughing. "And I hit a one-hopper!"
So, producing a Hip-Hop song with baseball players in the video was, of course, a dream.
The song celebrates the island of Puerto Rico. It tells the story of the career arcs of Eladio Carrión (born in P.R.) and De La Guetto (raised in San Juan), the video has magnificent shots of the Caribbean paradise and, in its title and style, "Mi Suerte" pays homage to famous Puerto Rican salsa singer Héctor Lavoe. You may also recognize the beat -- sampled off another song by one of the island's music legends, Big Pun.
And then, obviously, the video's intro has two of baseball's pre-eminent Puerto Rican superstars giving Teck hitting tips.
Díaz said he's a fan of Teck's, mentioning the hit "Conexión" as a song he listens to. Lindor, who mentions Usher and Daddy Yankee as a couple of his favorite artists, said he's always happy to support anything having to do with his homeland.
"It's always exciting, you know, when you can help out with any Latino or Puerto Rican and be a part of what they're doing," the Gold Glove shortstop smiled. "You're a part of what they're doing and they're definitely a part of what we do. We're trying to help our culture and push it to be bigger. We're all trying to be great role models for the up-and-comers."
Teck was, in turn, ecstatic to have Lindor and Díaz join up for the video.
"It's amazing," Teck told me, saying that it was an honor to be part of a song commemorating the Island of Enchantment. "I requested them. This is more Puerto Rican, so I wanted to have the best Puerto Rican players I know. I needed them."
Check out the entire music video here