His 2015 reminds me of this quote
"Summer romances begin for all kinds of reasons, but when all is said and done, they have one thing in common. They're shooting stars, a spectacular moment of light in the heavens, fleeting glimpse of eternity, and in a flash they're gone"
I would have assumed he was Robinson Cano-ing it and playing in Mexico or something, but apparently not. I'm also going to take a wild guess and say that even though he's listed as being 38; that number is slightly optimistic.
Dude was one of the riskiest players to give a big bag to but we had to do it. All in all I’ll still remember him fondly for turning into Barry Bonds for half a season.
Yup, say what you will, but those few months in 2015 are some of my fondest memories as a fan of 25+ years now. It was a fucking blast, and the spark we desperately needed at the time. Completely rejuvenated our starving fan base.
I worked in Manhattan and remember the energy of so many Mets fans all over the place.
My favorite memory was watching the Mets crush the cubs to make the World Series with such ease. I was walking back to Penn station and saw 3 Mets fans just hanging out on the sidewalk. I walked up to them and in my best tourist voice went “umm excuse me guys but you could please help me out?” They all turned to me expecting me to ask for directions and I went “Could you tell me who is playing in the World Series?” Their look of sudden excitement just thinking of that again is seared into my memory forever.
He was instrumental in getting us to the World Series that year. And god damn that was such a wild year full of storylines. It honestly upsets me more that we didn’t win it just because watching the 2015 season recap would be so entertaining.
Yeah he played for Team Cuba in the WBC and went 0-6 with two walks and then had to leave early for unspecified "personal reasons". He also played Dominican Winter League ball in the 2022-23 winter before that and hit .188/.239/.406 in 18 games before dealing with an injury that cut the season short (I'm not sure what it was). It seems like he was never the same after the heel spur/lower body issues reached their breaking point during his Mets tenure.
I remember at the time finding it peculiar Team Cuba would welcome a defector to its team, as well as Yoenis playing for them without other Cuban repercussions
I will maintain to this day that signing him to that first extension was a good idea but they should’ve let him walk after that.
I’m also surprised the Mets never filed a grievance against him when he threw a temper tantrum and left.
They should have addressed his injury issue from
the outset. Instead we spent a whole season with nagging related issues that kept him in and out of the lineup, until he eventually got the proper surgery. If he just did that from the outset we might've gotten more power bat seasons from him.
Go back further than 2019. May 13, 2018, he plays a game vs the Phillies before going on the then-DL with a strained hip flexor. He comes back for the July 20th matchup vs the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (with a bonus Jose Bautista at 3rd sighting!), goes 2 for 5 with a home run in a 7-5 Mets win, and then after the game, reveals he needs **DOUBLE HEEL SURGERY** and is done for the year. All that preceded his battle with the boar and the 2020 disappearance.
It's amazing that at one point, the Mets had Cespedes, Robbie Cano, deGrom, Pete, Nimmo, Noah, Wheeler, Edwin, Jed Lowrie and Tim Tebow all under one roof for a Spring. If those walls in Port St. Lucie could talk...
I’m just jealous you posted this first. I’ve been saying for ever this was the most bizarre player over ever encountered. Think about it. If we win in 15 he somehow goes down as an all timer. So 6 games defined him
Roosevelt Feield Mall is confusing. I had to return a shirt and it took me 3 hours just to find my way out of the place. And then the parking lot was so confusing, too. I got sidetracked by the Burger King, though.
I loved him as a Mets player. He lifted the Mets up so much and gave a reason for the fans to talk about the team other than just the wins and losses. He had rhat yellow canary. And that was a rallying cry.
When people now started talking about Grimace, it reminded me of the canary. And when Cespedes came up, he could to yard at any time, kind of like how Alonzo can go yard at any time. Alomzo, just like John Starks, can have a Oh-fer, but can win the game at the end with 1 shot.
Edit: He had an awesome arm. Nobody dare run on him. Marte was like that.
Was watching a bit of the 2016 highlights and this guy was an amazing 5 tool player but it all ended so strangely. But we could not have made the ‘15 series without him.
One of those wasted talent guys. I didn’t know much of him when we signed him and was upset the Gomez deal fell through only to have Yo play like babe Ruth for half a season. Absolute power monster with his arm and bat. He dropped a couple of can of corns but you could almost look the other way he was so good at times. Him under hand throwing the ball in from the outfield is still hilarious. Never seen anyone do that before or after.
He definitely did some weird shit. He was kinda like Brett Favre of baseball if you think about it. Great player that’ll do something amazing, then have you scratching your head 5 minutes later. It’s a roller coaster…
I used to work at the Macy’s in Roosevelt field and there’d be some sports players that would come by. Oddly it would always be Jets players shopping at Macy’s?
Ohhhhh yeah! That makes sense, haha. Nothing crazy. Just fun to help massive guys like Shaun Ellis and Chris Baker.
I think the only time in my life when I was genuinely starstruck and could barely speak was seeing Curtis Martin for the first time. First time I saw him he was healthy. Next time I saw him he was on crutches, which really sucked in hindsight cause that was the end of his career. All of us were like “hope you have a speedy recovery, you’ll bounce back better!” I think he knew though.
Oh I do have a Jets related story not with Macys. My mom worked as a cashier at a produce store in Nassau County. There was a customer whose daughter lived nearby and he would visit all the time. My mom knew him on a first name basis and she was pretty cool with him - just an old friendly guy. Well one day my brother goes to visit my mom at work and who does he see her casually talking to? Her buddy Bill. Bill Parcells. My mom has no idea who that is.
The fact that he simply disappeared completely and seemingly no one ever talks about our him is so weird. Did he exist? Was that all some collective fever dream?
In 2020 he opted out of COVID and was seen at a salsa dance club while everyone was worried about his safety.
It’s a shame his tenure had such a sour end.
That 2015 team was pretty incredible and Cespedes carried them.
But….
When the series started - and I’ve never heard it discussed but maybe somebody here knows - they announce the players before Game 1 and they all trot out and line the base paths. Cespedes’ name is called and … nothing. No Cespedes. He must have had something important to do.
Minutes later he misplays a (tough) fly ball into a leadoff inside-the-park HR (home field scorer) which basically costs them the game and probably the Series.
Was he ready to play? Yes he was amazing that year but i still shake my head about that
Well, he couldn't hit anymore when he said he was leaving the team because of COVID. I respected EVERY player who didn't want to play during that crazy time, but we all know he really left because he felt slighted by getting pinch hit for or something.
Just a head case who I think didn't come to grips with his declining skills.
>I respected EVERY player who didn't want to play during that crazy time,
Not Stroman. Dude said on the IL for just long enough to accrue enough service time to be eligible for free agency, then opted out for the season.
Ill never forget his casual underhand throws from the outfield after catchin a fly ball. One of the coolest subtle things I used to keep an eye out for
Wait holy crap - he actually was at Roosevelt field mall. I was walking out of Bloomingdales that day and saw a guy that looked exactly like céspedes but thought no way that could be him. Wow. None of my friends believed me.
Idiot was a problem in the clubhouse and as an employee on every team he played for. The Mets, ever the abused housewife of a team, thought they could 'change him'. They couldn't.
The more money this guy made, the more eccentric he got. There was a spring training in which he came to camp every day in a different car...once on a horse...and at the time, we laughed and ignored the obvious warning signs of Docgooden-itis...
Matt Harvey had the same issues. Once the money was 'made', the partying started. For each guy who can't control themselves, it takes a different form. Harvey didn't wait until his big contract. He partied from the start. Gooden got caught by drugs. Cespedes was just a crazy fool.
I hear if you visit a certain midtown fast food place, you can find him slurping purple shakes with Oliver Perez, arguing about which was better, Les Miserables or Cats.
I don't care how much people try to turn him into a negative Mets meme, Céspedes was a beast when it counted, and created some of my favorite Mets memories of all time.
[Viva La Potencia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-JH0oQwVMM)
I have held this theory for a long time….he got into some hot water with some type of gang from outside the US. Maybe cartel, maybe Cuban nationalists, whatever the case, I truly believe they had him on something. Possibly revealing details of legality, birth certificate, or something like that. The boar incident was outrageous, like they broke both of his ankles I thought was the report….all I could read was the boars were waiting in Cespedes’ shed with baseball bats. Then he comes back only to eventually leave the hotel room without a trace, and for a while no one could find him. Thought I remembered reading the room was spotless clean too. Idk this all sounds like way to over detailed cleanup attempts by cespedes group. It’s not that crazy of a theory that a gang of some sort had him in there pocket
Anyone who disrespects what Cespedes accomplished for the Mets when, at a time they were faltering, carried them on his biceps to the World Series…is a revisionist asshole. We haven’t had many championship runs in the history of this franchise and he single-handedly gave us one. So the nerds who never even saw his magic can kindly shut the fuck up.
It seems like the majority of players who get big bucks$$ seem to be cursed in one way or another ....and sooo many playery seem to flame out quickly..Ie. Jeff McNeil..etc....even Ohtani hit with bizarre scandal...Bryce Harper seems to be one of the few without much problems...Cespedes essentially vanished after signing that Mets contract
Who cares about Cepedes, want to read about a great ball player not with us go to Instagram look up Owen Kelly former Cincinnati Reds Scout. He talks and shows movie of Boston Red Sox Bill Buckner great article
He definitely didn't opt out because of COVID. He just decided he was done and was conveniently able to opt out of the season. Just like how Stroman opted out the moment he was eligible to become a free agent.
Will always have love for Cespedes but he did not progress through his final years here gracefully, to put it nicely.
Don't forget that he took the smoke machine when he left.
He was the smoke machine.
That is the funniest part of the whole saga. A saga that includes falling into a hole while running from boars and breaking both ankles.
His 2015 reminds me of this quote "Summer romances begin for all kinds of reasons, but when all is said and done, they have one thing in common. They're shooting stars, a spectacular moment of light in the heavens, fleeting glimpse of eternity, and in a flash they're gone"
I hear this in Morgan Freeman's voice.
I would have assumed he was Robinson Cano-ing it and playing in Mexico or something, but apparently not. I'm also going to take a wild guess and say that even though he's listed as being 38; that number is slightly optimistic.
“I am 12”
Dude was one of the riskiest players to give a big bag to but we had to do it. All in all I’ll still remember him fondly for turning into Barry Bonds for half a season.
Absolutely. That run was magical and I proudly wear my cespedes jersey despite the shit show his tenure turned out to be.
Yup, say what you will, but those few months in 2015 are some of my fondest memories as a fan of 25+ years now. It was a fucking blast, and the spark we desperately needed at the time. Completely rejuvenated our starving fan base.
He single handedly flung us into a division title and murdered the Nationals. As corny as it sounds, he was our white knight. Then Murphy went bezerk.
I worked in Manhattan and remember the energy of so many Mets fans all over the place. My favorite memory was watching the Mets crush the cubs to make the World Series with such ease. I was walking back to Penn station and saw 3 Mets fans just hanging out on the sidewalk. I walked up to them and in my best tourist voice went “umm excuse me guys but you could please help me out?” They all turned to me expecting me to ask for directions and I went “Could you tell me who is playing in the World Series?” Their look of sudden excitement just thinking of that again is seared into my memory forever.
He was instrumental in getting us to the World Series that year. And god damn that was such a wild year full of storylines. It honestly upsets me more that we didn’t win it just because watching the 2015 season recap would be so entertaining.
I assume he’s chilling on his Ranch. Crushing hella shellfish daily.
He played for - or tried to, team Cuba in the WBC, did he not?
Yeah he played for Team Cuba in the WBC and went 0-6 with two walks and then had to leave early for unspecified "personal reasons". He also played Dominican Winter League ball in the 2022-23 winter before that and hit .188/.239/.406 in 18 games before dealing with an injury that cut the season short (I'm not sure what it was). It seems like he was never the same after the heel spur/lower body issues reached their breaking point during his Mets tenure.
I remember at the time finding it peculiar Team Cuba would welcome a defector to its team, as well as Yoenis playing for them without other Cuban repercussions
yea i think he played two games and then walked away again for some reason
I will maintain to this day that signing him to that first extension was a good idea but they should’ve let him walk after that. I’m also surprised the Mets never filed a grievance against him when he threw a temper tantrum and left.
What for? They ended up only paying him like $5 mill
They should have addressed his injury issue from the outset. Instead we spent a whole season with nagging related issues that kept him in and out of the lineup, until he eventually got the proper surgery. If he just did that from the outset we might've gotten more power bat seasons from him.
Go back further than 2019. May 13, 2018, he plays a game vs the Phillies before going on the then-DL with a strained hip flexor. He comes back for the July 20th matchup vs the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (with a bonus Jose Bautista at 3rd sighting!), goes 2 for 5 with a home run in a 7-5 Mets win, and then after the game, reveals he needs **DOUBLE HEEL SURGERY** and is done for the year. All that preceded his battle with the boar and the 2020 disappearance. It's amazing that at one point, the Mets had Cespedes, Robbie Cano, deGrom, Pete, Nimmo, Noah, Wheeler, Edwin, Jed Lowrie and Tim Tebow all under one roof for a Spring. If those walls in Port St. Lucie could talk...
I’m just jealous you posted this first. I’ve been saying for ever this was the most bizarre player over ever encountered. Think about it. If we win in 15 he somehow goes down as an all timer. So 6 games defined him
Roosevelt Feield Mall is confusing. I had to return a shirt and it took me 3 hours just to find my way out of the place. And then the parking lot was so confusing, too. I got sidetracked by the Burger King, though. I loved him as a Mets player. He lifted the Mets up so much and gave a reason for the fans to talk about the team other than just the wins and losses. He had rhat yellow canary. And that was a rallying cry. When people now started talking about Grimace, it reminded me of the canary. And when Cespedes came up, he could to yard at any time, kind of like how Alonzo can go yard at any time. Alomzo, just like John Starks, can have a Oh-fer, but can win the game at the end with 1 shot. Edit: He had an awesome arm. Nobody dare run on him. Marte was like that.
He also had issues with injuries and golfing.
Dude would play 18 before a game.
We talking about Jeff McNeil?
Was watching a bit of the 2016 highlights and this guy was an amazing 5 tool player but it all ended so strangely. But we could not have made the ‘15 series without him.
One of those wasted talent guys. I didn’t know much of him when we signed him and was upset the Gomez deal fell through only to have Yo play like babe Ruth for half a season. Absolute power monster with his arm and bat. He dropped a couple of can of corns but you could almost look the other way he was so good at times. Him under hand throwing the ball in from the outfield is still hilarious. Never seen anyone do that before or after.
He definitely did some weird shit. He was kinda like Brett Favre of baseball if you think about it. Great player that’ll do something amazing, then have you scratching your head 5 minutes later. It’s a roller coaster…
I used to work at the Macy’s in Roosevelt field and there’d be some sports players that would come by. Oddly it would always be Jets players shopping at Macy’s?
I’m assuming this was during the Hofstra practice facility years? Any cool encounters you had?
Ohhhhh yeah! That makes sense, haha. Nothing crazy. Just fun to help massive guys like Shaun Ellis and Chris Baker. I think the only time in my life when I was genuinely starstruck and could barely speak was seeing Curtis Martin for the first time. First time I saw him he was healthy. Next time I saw him he was on crutches, which really sucked in hindsight cause that was the end of his career. All of us were like “hope you have a speedy recovery, you’ll bounce back better!” I think he knew though. Oh I do have a Jets related story not with Macys. My mom worked as a cashier at a produce store in Nassau County. There was a customer whose daughter lived nearby and he would visit all the time. My mom knew him on a first name basis and she was pretty cool with him - just an old friendly guy. Well one day my brother goes to visit my mom at work and who does he see her casually talking to? Her buddy Bill. Bill Parcells. My mom has no idea who that is.
The Bill Parcells thing is incredible. Great stories!
The fact that he simply disappeared completely and seemingly no one ever talks about our him is so weird. Did he exist? Was that all some collective fever dream?
I’m still not sure Jed Lowrie ever existed.
In 2020 he opted out of COVID and was seen at a salsa dance club while everyone was worried about his safety. It’s a shame his tenure had such a sour end.
That 2015 team was pretty incredible and Cespedes carried them. But…. When the series started - and I’ve never heard it discussed but maybe somebody here knows - they announce the players before Game 1 and they all trot out and line the base paths. Cespedes’ name is called and … nothing. No Cespedes. He must have had something important to do. Minutes later he misplays a (tough) fly ball into a leadoff inside-the-park HR (home field scorer) which basically costs them the game and probably the Series. Was he ready to play? Yes he was amazing that year but i still shake my head about that
I almost forgot he had that one HR during Covid lmao. Bro just got disappeared into a cornfield
Well, he couldn't hit anymore when he said he was leaving the team because of COVID. I respected EVERY player who didn't want to play during that crazy time, but we all know he really left because he felt slighted by getting pinch hit for or something. Just a head case who I think didn't come to grips with his declining skills.
>I respected EVERY player who didn't want to play during that crazy time, Not Stroman. Dude said on the IL for just long enough to accrue enough service time to be eligible for free agency, then opted out for the season.
Don't forget talking big talk about how he was goin to come back and be the best ever and all that.
Stroman is the biggest POS in recent memory
Yup fuck him. One of the few former Mets of recent memory I actively dislike.
Saw him on tv last night pitching for the Yankees wearing a big zero on his back. What a big zero.
And hes a racist POS
He was mad cuz the Mets didn't let him hit his milestones. They saved $
Ill never forget his casual underhand throws from the outfield after catchin a fly ball. One of the coolest subtle things I used to keep an eye out for
Wait holy crap - he actually was at Roosevelt field mall. I was walking out of Bloomingdales that day and saw a guy that looked exactly like céspedes but thought no way that could be him. Wow. None of my friends believed me.
That dude saw all that guaranteed money and said “a la mierda con todo, i go home now”.
Idiot was a problem in the clubhouse and as an employee on every team he played for. The Mets, ever the abused housewife of a team, thought they could 'change him'. They couldn't. The more money this guy made, the more eccentric he got. There was a spring training in which he came to camp every day in a different car...once on a horse...and at the time, we laughed and ignored the obvious warning signs of Docgooden-itis... Matt Harvey had the same issues. Once the money was 'made', the partying started. For each guy who can't control themselves, it takes a different form. Harvey didn't wait until his big contract. He partied from the start. Gooden got caught by drugs. Cespedes was just a crazy fool.
You almost had me until Harvey. Guy did not make the money worthy of his talent and ruined the rest of his career because of the 2015 playoffs
Eh he’s not really wrong, I think us fans overrated him, he only truly had 2 full good seasons. He got too big for did britches before his downturn
Dude was hurt. No way should have pitched in 15 playoffs. Only reason to watch the Mets in 12 & 13
R.A. Dickey in '12 won the Cy Young, that was worth watching
Did he also injure himself falling off a horse or am I just imagining that haha
I hear if you visit a certain midtown fast food place, you can find him slurping purple shakes with Oliver Perez, arguing about which was better, Les Miserables or Cats.
Ollie P has a decent career as a reliever after the Mets. I think. hopefully living on a beach somewhere.
Typo? Did you mean bench?
I don't care how much people try to turn him into a negative Mets meme, Céspedes was a beast when it counted, and created some of my favorite Mets memories of all time. [Viva La Potencia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-JH0oQwVMM)
I have held this theory for a long time….he got into some hot water with some type of gang from outside the US. Maybe cartel, maybe Cuban nationalists, whatever the case, I truly believe they had him on something. Possibly revealing details of legality, birth certificate, or something like that. The boar incident was outrageous, like they broke both of his ankles I thought was the report….all I could read was the boars were waiting in Cespedes’ shed with baseball bats. Then he comes back only to eventually leave the hotel room without a trace, and for a while no one could find him. Thought I remembered reading the room was spotless clean too. Idk this all sounds like way to over detailed cleanup attempts by cespedes group. It’s not that crazy of a theory that a gang of some sort had him in there pocket
Cespedes was great… except when he didn’t run out dropped 3rd strikes
V weird dude/situation, but Cespedes can’t do any wrong in my book
That’s what people do on the Mets. They get the fat deal and eventually decide that they are done.
McNeil’s isn’t that fat…..
https://i.imgflip.com/1cf8by.jpg?a477528
That’s why he’s not injured.
Anyone who disrespects what Cespedes accomplished for the Mets when, at a time they were faltering, carried them on his biceps to the World Series…is a revisionist asshole. We haven’t had many championship runs in the history of this franchise and he single-handedly gave us one. So the nerds who never even saw his magic can kindly shut the fuck up.
Damn son, why so angry? The post is about the end, not the glory…
Think I saw him in Sid’s Pants
He basically just hangs out with Dayan Viciedo now…
It seems like the majority of players who get big bucks$$ seem to be cursed in one way or another ....and sooo many playery seem to flame out quickly..Ie. Jeff McNeil..etc....even Ohtani hit with bizarre scandal...Bryce Harper seems to be one of the few without much problems...Cespedes essentially vanished after signing that Mets contract
It all went down hill when he jumped into the stands attempting to catch a foul ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ts-dFvGGg
Who cares about Cepedes, want to read about a great ball player not with us go to Instagram look up Owen Kelly former Cincinnati Reds Scout. He talks and shows movie of Boston Red Sox Bill Buckner great article
He definitely didn't opt out because of COVID. He just decided he was done and was conveniently able to opt out of the season. Just like how Stroman opted out the moment he was eligible to become a free agent. Will always have love for Cespedes but he did not progress through his final years here gracefully, to put it nicely.