In 1985, Major League Baseball made the Home Run Derby a part of the All Star Game Festivities.  Darryl Strawberry would become the first ever Met to participate in a Home Run Derby and the only Met to win one.  He shared the title with Wally Joyner, who also hit four home runs.  Needless to say, it was a much different back then.

No other Met who followed would ever win a Home Run Derby.  In 1989, Howard Johnson‘s two home runs fell short of the three home runs hit by Ruben Sierra and Eric Davis.  In 1993, Bobby Bonilla would fall short as well as his five home runs were two short of the seven hit by Juan Gonzalez and Ken Griffey, Jr.  The Mets would not be close to winning until 2006 with David Wright.

It was that night in Pittsburgh that Wright seemed to be emerging from star to superstar.  With Paul Lo Duca as hit pitcher, Wright would hit 16 homers in the first round.  He made it all the way to the finals before losing to Ryan Howard.  In 2013, when the All Star Game was hosted at Citi Field, Wright would acquit himself well hitting five home runs.  However, he would not make it out of the first round.  Not many would notice as Wright wasn’t the story of that Home Run Derby.  It was Yoenis Cespedes flashing La Potencia:

Cespedes wowed the crowd with 17 first round homers en route to winning the 2013 Home Run Derby.  It was on that night that Cespedes’ legend began.  It was on that night that Mets fans began to become infatuated with him.  Three years later, he’s now their best player, and with him goes their hopes of returning to the World Series.