The second anthem that's inspired 'a small island of only 3 million' and its baseball team

Puerto Rico pitcher José De León has been waiting his whole life to see it.

Nolan Arenado heard it might happen but said when it did, it “totally exceeded” his expectations.

Puerto Rico’s official baseball historian, Jorge Delgado, can barely get out the words when asked how he felt hearing and witnessing Puerto Rico fans singing “Preciosa” after their dramatic walk-off victory over Panama.

All he can do is point to his eye.

"Cry," Delgado told me. "Cry."

"Preciosa" is actually a very old song. It was first recorded by composer Rafael Hernandez Marin way back in 1937.

"The original was a bolero," Delgado told me. "The same tempo throughout the song."

It’s an island-adoring tune – expressing love for everything and everyone on the 3,500 square-mile archipelago. Basking in the enchantment, protective of its passion and its people.

More than 60 years later, Marc Anthony recorded a new version in 1998. Even though the original was always popular amongst Puerto Ricans, Anthony's version has caught on with a new generation. It's more up-tempo. It's fiery. His strong voice makes it more emotional and makes the people listening feel the same way.

"Marc Anthony gave it that taste, that bit of Latin rhythm," Delgado said. "That puts the song at another level."

Anthony has performed it live for decades, to huge crowds at MSG, in Puerto Rico by himself and, most recently, alongside Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico.

"It's an immense honor," Anthony has said about performing the island love song. "A dream."

Many Puerto Ricans call Anthony's version a "second national anthem." It's sung after big moments of celebration, in both sporting and non-sporting events. Delgado told me that Saturday night's rendition was probably the first time he's seen it sung in that kind of way at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. A beautiful, echoing melody that seems to just wrap you up and hold you.

Delgado feels the song has an even deeper meaning in the sports world.

"We are a small island of only three million," Delgado told me, getting emotional again. "And we have done so much with our population. You can get the population of all those teams that are against us. We don't need population. We, as an island, defeated the Dream Team with Michael Jordan. We are the one country with one champion in every boxing division. And then you have the jockeys, you have the baseball. We have six Hall of Famers. Six. With so little people."

The moment on Saturday night seemed to especially affect De León, who was seen on video tearing up.

“It was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced on a baseball field,” the Isabela, P.R., native said. “You couldn’t write it better. It was perfect. Walking it off and then having the whole stadium come together and sing that song. It meant so much to us as Puerto Ricans.”

Arenado, who’s representing his mother’s heritage and playing for the island for the first time, had been warned about the atmosphere. Still, it blew him away.

“Obviously I've played in some big games in this tournament, and it's gotten really loud,” Arenado said. “There's just something different about doing it here and seeing the joy and the singing after. It's hard to really explain and put into words the feeling that they have. It's something you don't see.”

The crowd of close to 20,000 stood around for the whole song, swaying and singing for their national team. Not wanting to leave. Not wanting them to leave.

“None of the players wanted to go inside, they wanted to stay out here,” De León smiled. “It was a really intimate moment.”

“I'm so thankful to be here,” Arenado said. “I'm glad I made that decision. Saturday, for me just watching the joy, I came here for that.”

Unfortunately, eventually the moment did have to end and the fans and players disappeared into the night. Hiram Bithron was empty again, just as it had been before.

But as Puerto Rico moved through Pool A, winning game after game, it became full again with friends and family singing that precious song about this precious place.

The song will likely follow them to Houston in the quarterfinal, either on players' phones or on social media from posts by fans watching from home on the island. Even if it’s not played out loud, it’s already within the players. It’s a feeling, a force of spirit that they carry with them always.