I remember the night the Mets signed Cespedes in 2015. There was a photo of two fans taken at Citi Field. Both were wearing Mets jerseys. It was clear that one of them could not wait for the Cespedes jerseys to be sold in the Mets gift shop. He had written the last name “Cespedes” and scotch-taped it to the back of his Mets jersey. Whose name he had covered up I’ll never know. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.
And of course, there was long-time Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld tweeting, “Oh my God. I can’t believe I can actually say this, but is it true that there is now ‘A Cespedes’ for the rest of us?” I have never watched Seinfeld so I didn’t get the “Festivus” joke, but thanks to Somers on WFAN and about a billion other Seinfeld fans, I get it now.
Once the World Series had ended, you heard the public rumblings of “what are we gonna do about Cespedes?” Granted, Mets fans were probably rumbling that the moment the season ended that cold night in October (Conor Gillaspie? Jesus. Even Josh said on WOR that he “doesn’t even spell his name the right way”). Once the Cubbies took care of the Indians, what had been private rumblings rose to a full-out cacophony: what are we going to do about Cespedes?
You almost have to take his heroics in the latter part of the 2015 season as a kind of dream. This is a hitter you can drool over. And oh my – he can play center! And that arm! Who did the Mets give up to get Cespedes – oh, that’s right: pitching prospects Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa.
Who?
Well, that may come back to bite us later but let’s not dwell in the land of tomorrow. Let’s firmly position ourselves in the land of today: the day after my birthday, it was announced that the New York Mets had signed Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year deal worth $110 million dollars. We get to keep him for four more years.
What does having Cespedes in the lineup bring to the Mets?
- 2016 Silver Slugger Winner
- Two-time All Star
- 137 Career Home Runs
- He hit the first home run ever to reach the third deck in the history of Citi Field
- 06 HR rate per PA
- Cespedes has the highest home run rate per plate appearance in franchise history
- .272 batting average
- 57 outfield assists
- .494 slugging percentage
But most importantly, the Mets are 109-79 when Cespedes appears in a game (over the last two years). He gives the other batters better pitches to hit because the pitchers are afraid to pitch to him. Daniel Murphy’s 2015 success as a Mets can be traced in part, to Cespedes’ presence in the lineup.
Getting Cespedes locked in for four years was a coup for the Mets. You could see the calm in Sandy Alderson’s face during the recent winter meetings. “It has been clear that when Yoenis Cespedes plays for the Mets…the Mets win” Sandy recently said.
And from Yoenis himself: “I promise that my goal will be to bring back another World Series Championship to this team, the fans and this organization.”
Yes, indeed.
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