Yoenis Cespedes: 2015 NL Champion Mets All Star (2015 - 2020)

Yoenis Cespedes was born October 18th, 1985, in Campechuela, Cuba. His mother Estela Milanes was a softball pitcher in the 2000 Olympics & his father was a former Cuban League catcher.

At age ten he was sent to a state school to focus on baseball. He played in Cuba at Granma, from the ages of 17 to 24 being a .319 career hitter.

In 2011 he & ten family members defected from Cuba landing in the Dominican Republic.

Then the five foot ten, right hand hitting outfielder was signed by the Oakland Athletics as an amateur free agent in 2012. He was considered a five-tool player & one of the best to come out of Cuba in a generation.

MLB Career: He was ready for Opening Day 2012. In his second career game he hit his first career HR & then hit HRs in the next two as well, driving in two runs in each game. In his first month he hit five HR with 19 RBI. 

On June 21st he hit his first walk off HR it came against the LA Dodgers. He began the year in center field but quickly became the A's regular left fielder, when Cocoa Crisp returned from injury. 

Cespedes led the team in batting (.292) while coming in second on the club in HRs (23) RBIs (82) & doubles (25). He also had 16 steals, five triples & a .356 on base %. 

His strong arm in the outfield led him to six assists (4th in the AL). Oakland won the AL West that year & Cespedes hit .316 in the ALDS loss to the Detroit Tigers. 

2013 HR Derby at Citi Field: At the 2013 All Star Game in Citi Field, he was chosen by A.L. team Captain Robinson Cano as a last-minute addition to participate in the HR Derby. 

He put on a show hitting 30 HRs, beating Bryce Harper while becoming the first player to win the Derby while not been selected to the actual game. On the season he battled through injuries, but still hit 26 HRs with 80 RBIs while batting .240 in 135 games.

2013 Post Season: That year the Athletics won another divisional title under manager Bob Melvin, beating the Texas Rangers by five games with a strong finish winning 16 of their last 22 games. 

They once again lost the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers, with Cespedes hitting a HR in Game #1. Overall, he drove in four runs batting .381 with a .409 on base %. 

2014 Season: He had another good start at the plate & on the field. In late May he put on a show nailing runner with his strong throwing arm. He had three put outs in games against the Toronto Blue Jays & Baltimore Orioles. 

On May 31st against the Anaheim Angels, he threw out both Chris Iannetta & Kole Calhoun at the plate. On June 10th, again against the Angels, he made a 300-foot throw home to nail Howie Kendrick & then the next night threw out Albert Pujols at third base.

Cespedes along with six other A's players went to the All-Star Game that season. He was leading in the balloting but lost out to Adam Jones in the final week of voting.

2014 HR Derby: He participated in the HR derby again & became the first player since Ken Griffey Jr. to win back-to-back derbies. In the actual game in Minnesota, he was 0-2.

The Athletics had been in first place most of the season, with fine young pitching & Cespedes being one of the team's best bats. On July 31st, the A's traded him to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Jon Lester & Johnny Gnomes.

By mid-August Oakland fell out of first place & barley made a wild card spot at the end of year. They would lose the Wild Card game to the eventual AL Champion Kansas City Royals. In 51 games in Boston, he hit 5 HRs with 10 doubles & 33 RBIs batting .269.

Overall, he had a fine year driving in 100 runs (9th in the AL) for the first time in his career, he batted .260 with 22 HRs, 36 doubles (3rd in the league) 6 triples, 89 runs scored (10th in the AL) & seven sac flies (10th in the AL). 

In the outfield he led the league in assists (16) & put outs (204).

In December he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Rick Porcello. 

2015 Season: The year did not go as planned in Detroit, after playing in a league leading 102 games Cespedes was batting .293 with 18 HRs 28 doubles 62 runs scored & 61 RBIs. 

On July 31st hours before the trade deadline, he was sent to the New York Mets for a pair of minor leaguers. 

Cespedes said he had expected to be traded & was following the afternoon trade deadline dealings on TV. With nine minutes to go he saw that he was traded to New York & his manager confirmed the deal. He said he felt no pressure playing in New York. He will just go out play his game & have fun.

Quotes-Yoenis Cespedes: "Honestly, I don’t know much about the Mets, given the fact that they are in the National League. But the one thing I can tell you that I do know is how good their pitching is."

Quotes- GM Sandy Alderson: "He's a very dynamic player, We think he's going to impact us in a number of different ways. But I think also just his presence in the lineup and his presence on the team will raise the energy level — and I hope it raises the energy level in the dugout and in the stands. I think that this is the kind of player that could have a big impact both in terms of the game on the field and how the team is perceived."

Cespedes became the 11th Cuban born player to play for the Mets.

Mets Trivia: In 1969 it was Donn Clendenon that helped a pitching rich team with little offense. Clendenon went on to win the World Series MVP Award. In 2015 Cespedes would take charge put the Mets offense on his back taking them through the pennant drive.

Mets Career: On August 1st, Yoenis Cespedes arrived with the Mets playing centerfield & batting in the third position. That night he drew a walk going 0-3 in a 3-2 win over the Washington Nat's, as the Mets got themselves within one game of first place. The next night they would beat Washington to tie for the NL East first place spot.

Multi- Three Doubles Game: On August 3rd, Cespedes collected three hits, all doubles while driving in four runs in the Mets 1-1 romp in Miami. He became the 28th Mts player to collect three doubles in a game.

On August 12th, he hit his first Mets HR, a solo shot coming in a 3-0 Mets win against the Colorado Rockies. He would drive in runs in three straight games, hitting another HR two days later.

Multi- Three HR Game 7 RBI Game & a Grand Slam: On August 21st in Colorado, Cespedes had one of the best nights of his career & put in one of the best Mets offensive games ever, matching a franchise RBI game record. Cespedes blasted three HRs, while collecting five hits & driving in seven runs in a 14-9 Mets win in Colorado. 

In the 2nd inning, he blasted a grand slam HR off Jon Gray to start out his big night.  It was his
second career grand slam HR. He had homered earlier in the season with the A's & became the third player in MLB history to hit grand slams in both leagues in the same season.

In the 4th he led off with a HR off Christian Bergman giving the Mets an 8-4 lead. In the top of the 6th, the Rockies had now tied the game, with Daniel Murphy aboard, Cespedes hit his third HR of the night, putting New York ahead again, 10-8. The seven RBIs were a season best for Cespedes.

Mets Trivia: Cespedes became the first Met to have five hits, five RBIs & five runs in a game since Edgardo Alfonzo in 1999.

In Philadelphia on August 24th & 25th he hit HRs in back-to-back games, leading the Mets to wins in both games. He would homer again in the fourth game of that series driving in two more runs. 

On his first Mets Road trip Cespedes hit six HRs driving in 15 runs while collecting 14 hits, keeping his average just below .300.

As the Mets entered September, they had a six-game lead over the Nat's & were starting to run away with he division. The Mets pitching was solid all year but now the offense took off led by Cespedes. In the first two weeks of the month, he would go on a tear like almost no Mets player ever saw, Cespedes was the hottest hitter in the league at just the right time.

From September 1st to September 14th, Cespedes batted .382 with nine HRs 21hits, four doubles, two triples, while driving in 19 runs & scoring 16 runs. In that stretch the Mets had an eight-game winning streak & won 10 of 13 games, on their way to the division title.

On September 1st, Cespedes hit his ninth Mets HR in a loss to the Phillies. The next night he hit another HR, a solo shot in a 9-4 Mets win. On September 4th in Miami, Cespedes hit a two run HR off Mike Dunn in a loss. Cespedes now homered in his third straight game, his eleventh in his 31st game with the Mets.

On September 6th, he hit his 30th HR of the season, off the Marlins Jarred Cosart in a loss in Florida. It was his first career 30 HR season.

As the Mets went to Washington D.C. Cespedes homered again in back-to-back games hitting a 4th inning solo shot off Max Scherzer. Cespedes collected three hits with two RBIs in the 8-5 win. It was Cespedes fifth multi-hit game in his last six games. He also became the fifth Mets player in franchise history to have three games with three or more extra base hits. The Mets extended their lead to five games over the Nat's.

NL Player of the Week Award: On September 8th in D.C., the Mets were down 7-1 to the Nat's.
They came back with an incredible six run 7th inning tying up the game. In that inning, Cespedes cleared the bases with a three-run double off Drew Storen. The Mets went on to an 8-7 victory.

The next night his two run HR in the 8th inning also off Storen, broke a 2-2 tie leading to a 5-3 Mets win as they extended their division lead to six games.  It was the fourth straight game where Cespedes had driven in a run, as he collected 13 RBIs in the first eight games of the month.

100th RBI: On September 11th in Atlanta, Cespedes reached the 100 RBI mark for the season. He collected a 3rd inning RBI double off Matt Wisler & then hit his 15th Mets HR a two-run shot off Arodys Vizcaino in a 5-1 win over the Braves. 

Trivia: Cespedes became the first Cuban born player to have back-to-back 100 RBI seasons.

The next night he homered again with a solo shot off the Braves Edwin Jackson. In the top of the 9th, with the score tied, Kelly Johnson's RBI hit put the Mets ahead & Cespedes's fielder's choice gave the Mets an insurance run in the 6-4 Mets win.

On September 14th at Citi Field, he hit his 35th HR of the season in the Mets 4-3 win over the
Marlins. Cespedes earned the Player of the Week Award, since joining the Mets he was batting .309 with 54 hits 17 HRs 10 doubles 3 triples 42 RBIs 36 runs scored & a 1.048 OPS in 41 games.

Trivia: Cespedes became just the second Player since the Cubs Hank Sauer in 1920 to hit 15 HRs & have 40 RBIs after switching teams in mid-season.

From there he cooled off a bit, driving in just two more runs the rest of the way. In the last week of the season, he bruised his fingers getting hit by a pitch in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In his 57 games with the Mets, Cespedes collected 66 hits with 17 HRs 14 doubles 4 triples 44 RBIs & 39 runs scored. He batted .287 with 14 walks, 4 stolen bases, a .337 on base%, a .604 slugging % & a .904 OPS. With the Mets he had 21 of his 57 season multi- hit games

His presence was known on the field defensively as well, in 54 games he posted four assists posting a .985 fielding %. Soon enough the rest of the league knew better than trying to run on Cespedes.

2015 Post Season- NLDS: In the NLDS win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, he went hitless in the Mets Game #1 win. 

In Game #2 at Dodger Stadium, Yoenis homered off Zack Greinke, in the Mets 5-2 loss. 

In Game #3 at Citi Field, he had three hits including a 4th inning three run HR off Alex Wood to put the Mets up 10-3. Cespedes would get just one more hit over the next two games as the Mets won the series in five games.

In the NLDS Cespedes had five hits as he batted .250 (5-20) with 2 HRs 4 RBIs & a .800 OPS. 

2015 NLCS: In the NLCS sweep over the Chicago Cubs, Cespedes began the series 0-4 in the opener in New York.

 In Game #2 at Citi Field, he had an RBI infield single driving in the final run of the Mets 4-1 win behind Noah Syndergaard's fine outing.

In Game #3 at Wrigley Field, Cespedes had a big three hit night, starting out with a 1st inning RBI double off Kyle Kendricks driving home David Wright. 

In the 8th inning, he drove home Wright again, with an RBI single, helping Jacob deGrom & the Mets to a 5-2 win. In the final Game #4 Cespedes collected a hit & drew a walk in the 8-3 victory, as th Mets advanced to the Word Series. Overall, in the NLCS he batted .286 going 4-14 with three RBIs.

2015 World Series: Cespedes' shoulder injury was acting up & gave him trouble swinging
the bat. Before the World Series he took a cortisone shot to help heal the pain. In the Mets World Series loss to the Kansas City Royals, he would struggle going just 3-20 batting .150.

In Game #1 at Kansas City, in the 6th inning, he singled leading off the 6th inning & later scored on Michael Conforto's sac fly. 

In the Game #2 loss he was hitless. In Game #3 at Citi Field, he singled in the 5th inning & added an RBI sac fly in the bottom of the 6th of the 9-3 Mets win. 

In Game #4 h collected another hit & struck out twice, going down on strikes in his fifth straight post season game.

In Game #5 he fouled a ball off his leg & was removed from the game due to pain.

20166- After the Pennant: During the off season there was lots of speculation if the Mets would sign him to a long-term multimillion dollar deal. Cespedes certainly earned his worth & the bidders would be high for the super star. 

The Mets & the Wilpon's, who were famous for not spending seemed like they would pass on him, or at least were gambling in the stakes.

Finally in January Mets fans like this one got their wish, a three-year deal was worked out by GM Sandy Alderson, that made him the highest paid player in 2016, with the opportunity to opt out the second year of a three-year deal.

Quotes- Yoenis Cepedes: "I loved my experience with the Mets last season," Cespedes said in a statement released by the team. "In a short period of time, my teammates and the fans made New York feel like home, and I truly felt embraced by the entire organization. As I entered free agency, I couldn't deny the pull to come back and finish what we had started last year. I am excited to finally announce that next season I am coming back to join the New York Mets once again."

After the Pennant- 2016: As the 2016 season began, Yoenis Cespedes came to Spring Training in style, driving in a different sports car from his collection each day & then for the grand entrance he & Noah Syndergaard rode into Pt. St. Lucie Tradition Field on horses.

The Mets opened the season in Kansas City & Cespedes got just one hit with a pair of walks in the opening series, 

On April 10th, he hit his first HR of the season, coming in a loss to the Phillies.

From April 15th to May 15th, he went on a month long Cespedes hot streak. He hit 11 HRs with 6 doubles 28 hits 29 RBIs, seven multi-hit games & a 1.129 OPS. Cespedes homered in back-to-back games three times during the stretch. 

Mets Record: He also set a franchise record with nine straight games with at least one extra base hit.

Pinch Hit HR: On April 26th, he came to bat as a pinch hitter with two men on & the Mets down 3-0 to the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. 

He blasted a three run HR off Brandon Finnegan to tie the game, a David Wright single later that inning secured the 4-3 Mets win. That week Cespedes had bruised his leg & missed some action. 

Grand Slam & Mets Record Multi-Six RBI Inning: On April 29th the Mets set a franchise
record scoring 12 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning in a 13-1 romp over the Giants at Citi Field. They sent 18 men to the plate collected eight hits & drew four walks in the inning.

Mets RBI Record Inning: In that 3rd inning, Cespedes singled off Jake Peavy bringing in two runs.  Later in that historic inning, he blasted a grand slam HR off Mike Broadway, for his third career grand slam. The four RBIs totaled six RBIs in the inning, setting a Mets franchise record surpassing Butch Huskey's five in 1998.

Mets Trivia: On May 18th, he hit his 30th HR as a Mets player. It came in his 92nd game, making him the quickest Met to get to 30 HRs. Dave Kingman had previously gotten to 30 HRs in is first 111 games.

On May 21stat Citi Field, his two run HR off the Brewers Zach Davies tied up the game in the 6th inning. In the bottom of the 9th, David Wright Walk off hit won it. He closed out the month of May with 8 HRs 5 doubles 8 walks & 14 RBIs.

On June 10th, Cespedes tied up a 1-0 game in Milwaukee, with a 6th inning HR off Junior Guerra. Matt Harvey & the Mets bullpen went on win 2-1 in extra innings with the help of a Matt Reynolds RBI line drive out.

On June 30th he started the Mets come back rally from three runs down of the Chicago Cubs, hitting his 19th HR coming off John Lackey, the Mets went on to a 4-3 win.

From June 30th to July 5th, he hit three HRs driving in six runs. On July 1st, he hit his 30th HR of the season, making it the fifth time he reached the 20 HR mark in his career. Then on July 8th went down with injury keeping him out for ten days & missing the All-Star Game. 

2016 All Star Game: Cespedes was named to his third All Star team, this time representing the Mets, along with Noah Syndergaard. But neither player saw action due to injuries in the AL's 4-2 win at San Diego.

He returned to the Mets injury beaten line up slowly helping the Mets take two of three in Florida while driving in runs in all three games. On July 24th his RBI single was one of the three runs in Steven Matz (six innings) combined 3-0 shut out over the Marlins.

In August he missed two weeks in August but when he returned, he helped bring the Mets back into the wild card hunt & a big September got them the top wild card spot by seasons end. 

Multi HR Game: On August 20th in San Francisco, he had his only multi- HR game of the season, as he hit solo HRs off Matt Moore & Jake Peavey, adding an RBI double in the 8-5 Mets victory. It was the third game of the year he collected at least three RBIs.

The next day his two run HR off Jeff Samardzija were the only two runs Noah Syndergaard needed in his 2-0 combined shut out with Jeurys Familia.

On August 27th at Citi Field, he hit his 26th HR of the year, a two-run shot off the Phillies Jeremy Hellickson. On the night the Mets hit four HRs in another 12-1 blow out. 

Walk Off HR: On August 29th, Cespedes had a three-hit game, including a 10th inning walk off HR off the Marlins Nick Wittgren in a 2-1 win. It was his first Mets Walk off HR.

In September he hit safely in 19 of 27 games driving in 18 runs with four HRs. The hottest stretch started on September 6th when he drove in runs in six straight games. On September 6th he hit a two run HR in the Mets 5-3 win over the Reds at Cincinnati.

Grand Slam HR: On September 11th, in a 10-3 win in Atlanta, he blasted a grand slam HR in Atlanta off Williams Perez. It was his second grand slam of the season & his 30th HR of the year as well. It marked his second straight 30 plus HR season.

 Back in the 1st inning, he was credited with an RBI on a ground out, giving him his second game where he drove in five or more runs on the season.

Trivia: Cespedes had also homered the night before, making it the sixth time on the season he had back-to-back HR games.

On September 17th at Citi Field, his 8th inning single off the Twins Ryan Presley tied the game at 1-1. The Mets eventually won the game on Curtis Granderson Walk off HR in the 12th inning.

On September 22nd, he also drove in two runs, for his 19th multi- RBI game of the season, in a wacky 9-8 Mets win over the Phillies at Citi Field.

On September 25th the Miami Marlins lost young pitcher Jose Fernandez in tragic boating accident. The baseball world was shocked as was South Florida. Fellow Cuban, Yoenis Cespedes paid his respects by taping up a Mets jersey with Fernandez name & number on it in the Mets dug out. 

That day the Mets scored their highest amount of runs in 2016 with a 17-0 shut out of the Phillies.

On September 26th, in an emotional game in Miami, the Marlins first game back after Fernandez's death, Cespedes was hitless in the loss.

On September 27th in South Florida, Cespedes his 31st HR of the year in the Mets 12-1 win. He collected two RBIs for his 20th multi-RBI game of the season.

The Mets who had suffered thru team injuries all season, won a wild card berth on October 2nd, the final game of the season. They made the post season for the second straight year. 

Cespedes finished off the year as the Mets biggest offensive player. With all the injuries to key players like Lucas Duda & David Wright out most of the season as well as injuries to most other key players, including Cespedes, it was Yoenis who carried the team into the playoffs for the second straight year.

He led the team in HRs (31) which was 9th most in the NL, RBIs (86) batting average (tied with Asdrubal Cabrera .280) Slugging (.530%) On Base % (.354%) total bases (254) & was second on the team in hits (134) doubles (25) & walks (51).

Cespedes averaged a HR in every 15.5 at bats which was third best in the league. In the outfield he had nine assists & made four errors in 122 games, 80 games in left & 63 games in center.

2016 Wild Card Game: In the NL Wild Card loss to the Giants at Citi Field, Cespedes went 0-4 against Madison Bumgarner. Cespedes was sporting a strange yellow colored hair & chin beard streak.

After the Wild Card- 2017: In the off season on November 3rd, Cespedes opted out of his contract. On November 30th, 2016, they signed him to a four-year deal worth $110 million, with a no trade clause. 

He began the season on Opening Day as the Mets left fielder, batting third. 

Multi HR- Five RBI Game: On April 11th he hit three HRs & drove in five runs in the Mets 14-4 blow out of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. 

He drove in two more runs the next day, as his 5th inning sac fly put the Mets up 5-0. They would go on to a 5-4 win. 

Multi- HR Game: On April 13th, he hit two more HRs coming off the Marlins Wei-Yin Chi & Jose Urena in a 9-8 Met win in South Florida. 

On April 27th he left the game with a pulled hamstring & did not return to action until June 10th. 

Grand Slam HR: On June 10th in his first game back, he hit a 9th inning grand slam off the Braves Luke Jackson in a 6-1 Mets win at Atlanta. Cespedes had hit a grand slam in his third straight season for the Mets & now had five in his career.

On June 17th he had a four-hit game with another HR in a Mets loss to the Nat's. 

On July 25th at Citi Field, he put the Mets ahead of the Padres in the 5th inning with an RBI double. In the 7th, after the Padres tied the game, Cespedes collected a two run triple giving the Mets the lead for good in the 6-5 win. It was one of his two triples on the season.

From August 1st to August 20th, he hit six HRs with 4 doubles & 13 RBIs. He started the month by driving in runs in the first three games. From August 11th to August 14th, Cespedes hit HRs in three straight games. On August 11th he hit a three run HR off the Phil's Nick Pivetta & added an RBI single later in the 6-5 win. It was the third time he had four or more RBIs in a game that season.

Season Ending Injury: On August 25th, he would be lost for the rest of the season as pulled his right hamstring. 

He ended the 2017 season with 17 HRs 17 doubles 2 triples 42 RBIs & a .292 batting average with a .352 on base %. The Mets were terrible finishing 70-92.

2018: In 2018 Spring Training, Cespedes still having wrist problems, spoke highly of the club & was confident on a good year. 

He started out on Opening Day with three RBIs & two hits in the Mets 9-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The next day he hit his first HR of the year. Later that week he hit HRs in back-to-back games in victories over the Phillies & Nationals.

Grand Slam HR: On April 18th, he hit an 8th inning grand slam off the Nat's A.J. Cole in an 11-5 Mets win at Citi Field. It was his sixth career grand slam & he had now hit one in each of his four seasons with the Mets. The four RBIs were also a season high.

On April 24th in St. Louis, Cespedes hit a three run HR off Luke Weaver helping in a 6-5 extra inning win over the Cardinals. In the top of the 10th, Jay Bruce hit a solo HR off Matt Bowman.

Overall, although he batted just .233 Cespedes hit 6 HRs with 28 RBIs thru April. In the first two weeks of May he hit two HRs & saw his average fall to .255 but then he was out with more injuries. 

Two months later, on July 20th he returned to play in a subway series game, where he hit a HR off Domingo German in a 7-5 Mets win. 

Season Ending Injury: But that would be it for Cespedes & his return. He had to get surgery on both his heels & would be out the rest of the season. The 2018 Mets finished fourth at 77-85.

2019 Season: In May of 2019, he injured himself at his Port St. Lucie ranch, fracturing his right ankle. On May 22nd, he underwent surgery & was out for the rest of the season.

The Mets regrouped & with the emergence of Pete Alonso & Jeff McNeil went on to finish ten games over .500 winning 86 games but falling short of a post season berth.

2020: After two years, Cespedes returned to action for the Covid 19 shortened season. When the season finally began in late July, he was on the Opening Day line up as the Mets official designated hitter.

With a knack for something out of the ordinary, he hit a 7th inning HR off the Braves Chris Martin. The Mets won the game 1-0. 

National League DH Trivia: Cespedes also became the first official NL designated hitter to hit a HR.

On July 29th he hit another HR, then drove in two runs on July 31st in another game against the Braves. His final game was August 1st, he struck out twice in four at bats. 

The next day his agent announced he opted out of the season with concerns about the pandemic. It was the end of his Mets career, as well as his MLB career.

Mets Carrer Stats: In his five-year Mets career, he played in 316 Mets games, batted .279 with 76 HRs 63 doubles 7 triples 180 runs scored & 205 RBIs. He struck out 288 times with 106 walks posting a .344 on base % & .883 OPS.  

In two Mets post seasons he batted .206 with 12 hits two HRs & five RBIs. He struck out 19 times walked once posted a .217 on base % & .544 OPS.

Career Stats: In an eight-year career, Cespedes batted .273 with 870 hits 165 HRs 528 RBIs 173doubles 24 triples 475 runs & 43 stolen bases. He struck out 742 times, walked 240 times, posted a .327 on base % & a .622 OPS. 

He played 721 games in the outfield making 67 assists with 31 errors posting a .980 fielding %.

Family: Cespedes & his girlfriend Sandra, live on a ranch in Port St. Lucie & in an apartment in Manhattan. He also has a son living in Cuba who he can only speak to on the phone & has not been allowed to get to the US.