Take one look at Yoenis Cespedes’s eyes. No fear there.
New York was mired in fear. The Mets had been mediocre for years and years and years. The Yankees ran roughshod over them and over the city. The malaise in the heart of New York Mets fans was deep.
Then, Cespedes changed everything. When he showed up the whole world knew not to fuck with the New York Mets.
The Mets got off to a great start in 2015. Omar Minaya laid the groundwork for success. He drafted Harvey, DeGrom and Matz. David Wright had been around forever. But it was the Super Pitchers who made the Mets relevant again. Minaya’s guys.
They started the season 13-3. But everything fell apart. David Wright was their leader. But he was decimated by injuries. The Super Pitchers and Terry Collins, their manager, a Legit Dude, kept them afloat. But by July 2nd they were 40-40. A .500 team. This after a 13-3 start.
The offense was abysmal. The team could barely get a hit. They got no hit by some AAA guy from San Francisco named Heston. Mike Francesa said that that no hitter should have an asterisk on it: “too easy.” That’s how bad the Mets offense was in the first half of the 2015 season.
Talk radio callers were so upset. They were clamoring for a trade. They were begging for the Mets to go out and get a bat that could help the team make a run at the Postseason. The team needed a spark, bad.
The front office wanted Carlos Gomez. Thank goodness for the Mets, that trade fell through due to a medical situation with Gomez. Gomez may be Legit, but he isn’t a game-changing talent like Cespedes.
The 2015 Mets were The Misery Mets prior to the trade deadline. That misery culminated on the Thursday afternoon before the trade deadline. Mets fans sat through a rain delay for hours only to watch Justin Upton bury them, dropping them to 52-50.
If the Mets had done nothing the next day at the trade deadline, they would have totally fallen apart. That team needed an infusion of offense. The brutal loss that Thursday afternoon in the rain would have been the beginning of the end.
Cespedes changed everything.
The next night in Queens was the exact opposite of the previous day in the rain. Cespedes was on the way to the city. The whole vibe was changing. Then Wilmer Flores became a folk hero when he hit a walk off home run against the rival Nationals. The Mets went on to sweep the Nationals in that series, in which Cespedes made his debut with the team.
They won seven straight games right off the bat after the trade. They hadn’t led the NL East since June 19th. Sweeping the Nationals put them into a tie, and by the time the winning streak was over they led by 2.5 games.
Cespedes was a game changer. He showed up and the Mets were like “we’re Legit. Don’t fuck with us.”
Their offense surged. They could barely score a run before the trade. They were a laughingstock. All of New York was like “you’re weak!” Opposing teams were embarrassing them day after day after day. Making a mockery of them.
Cespedes changed everything.
When he showed up the Mets started pummeling their opponents night after night after night. The clouds parted. The malaise lifted. The Misery Mets became The Mighty Mets. They vanquished everyone and everything that stood in their way.
Don’t fuck with The Mighty Mets.
Citi Field was like a giant be-in. It was good good vibes all around. Jerry Seinfeld was in the house. Billy Joel was in the house. He sang “Piano Man” at the World Series that year. That is so Legit. That is so New York.
The Mets lifted that whole city up. All of the pain and anguish turned to happiness and joy when the team was on the field. That’s sports at its best. It lifts people up. That’s Legit.
The Mets led the Nationals by nearly 10 games when they clinched the division title in late September. “Tears of joy” for the New York Mets said play by play announcer Gary Cohen. If the Mets hadn’t traded for Cespedes it would have just been “tears.” Again. Good move Mets. Good move.
Billy Beane made a huge mistake trading him. The Athletics collapse in 2014 was mirrored by the Mets takeoff in 2015. The Athletics had great chemistry, mojo, vibes and General Awesomeness before they traded Cespedes. When the Mets traded for him a year later they acquired with him all of the great chemistry, mojo, vibes and General Awesomeness that the A’s used to have.
That’s stolen chemistry. That’s different. Woah.
The Royals and Mets played each other in the World Series that year. The Royals had stolen chemistry from the Athletics as well. They had just beaten the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS. The Blue Jays had stolen chemistry from the Athletics too. The Mets had just beaten the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. Addison Russell was their shortstop. Another of the countless great players Beane has traded over the years.
We had Cespedes’s new team, Donadlson’s new team, Russell’s new team and the Royals. Meanwhile, the Athletics had completely collapsed.
If Beane hadn’t traded Cespedes in 2014, the A’s would have won the World Series that year or in 2015. 100 %.
The Royals beat the Mets in the World Series. But for three months, they electrified a city. They carried with them the hopes and dreams of millions of beautiful people. They didn’t reach their ultimate goal, but there’s always next year.
Has “next year” finally arrived for the New York Mets? Cespedes is still on the team. So are Todd Frazier and Adrian Gonzalez. So are the Super Pitchers. And David Wright’s still hanging out.
Win or lose, New York wins with Cespedes. He’s just got a special look in his eye, doesn’t he?
SABR Skeptic 