If you’ve been married long enough (one day), your wife tells you the things about you that are crazy, and in turn, drives her crazy. For me, it’s the overwhelming feeling of guilt I get for reasons no one would bat an eye over. It’s my Irish Guilt. It happened for me again today when I saw this tweet:
I didn't realize until I was doing some 2015 research today that former #Mets IF Jeff McKnight died of leukemia in May. Made me sad. RIP
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 30, 2015
You see in September, I was having fun with the Mets Magic Number to clinch the division. I was seeking to name the worst player I ever saw wear that particular number. As it so happens, I selected Jeff McKnight for the number 17. When I did that, I had no idea Jeff McKnight had died months earlier of leukemia. Had I known, I wouldn’t have said anything. I know better to speak ill of the dead, even when it is good natured fun.
Reading this, I felt horrible. I felt even worse after learning he succumbed to this disease after battling it for 10 years. Sadly, there’s not much out there on him other than the fact his father also played in the big leagues. What we do know is he was a Met, and he played with them during the tough times. We do know that on “The Worst Team Money Can Buy,” McKnight was probably the lone Met that acquitted himself well. His play did help him earn a role on the 1993 team. In 1993, he had his best year.
Very few of us make it to the big leagues. It is a major accomplishment no matter how you fare. I hope Jeff McKnight is proud of what he achieved. Even as I poked fun, I do remember those days at Shea rooting for him and the Mets when there was not much to root for.
With that said, may Jeff McKnight rest in peace.
It’s been a while since baseball was the top sport in America. There are a million reasons for that. With that said, baseball has always been held to a higher standard. Baseball has earned that right.
Whether it was dragged to the point by outside forces, baseball has always been at the forefront. Despite its racist past, including the absurdly named “Gentleman’s Agreement,” baseball was the first major sport to integrate whwn Jackie Robinson began his Hall of Fame career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Baseball ensured we would never forget this moment by forever retiring 42 and by every player on every team wearing it on every April 15th.
It’s part of the reason why when steroids became an issue, it was baseball, not football, that was dragged before Congress for very publicized hearings. Sure, the NFL were subject to the same hearings, but there was much less fanfare.
The reason is that baseball has been held to a higher standard. It’s why people are still angry with Barry Bonds has every homerun record with the help of PEDs. It’s why people roll their eyes at the Steelers dynasty being fueled by steroids. There’s a higher moral standard applied to baseball than any other sport.
Personally, I look at baseball being held to a higher standard as being good for the sport. It means baseball is still relevant in the public consciousness. It also puts itself on direct contrast to the NFL, who has seemingly had a rough year from a PR standpoint. The last thing baseball would want to do is to take something that makes it unique and completely abandon it. The Aroldis Chapman trade threatens that.
The NFL got beaten up over the Ray Rice scandal, and the Cowboys signing Greg Hardy. The NFL was linked to domestic violence. At the same time, MLB was being lauded for its new domestic violence policy. Again, MLB was attempting to establish itself as the league with a higher moral standard. As you can see, they seem to accept this responsibility. That’s why the Chapman trade is so baffling. You would think teams wouldn’t want to touch him with a 10 foot pole. Keep in mind here’s what has been alleged:
Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman allegedly fired eight shots in the garage of his Miami-area home following an October argument with his girlfriend in which she told police he “choked” her and pushed her against the wall, according to reports obtained by Yahoo Sports.
In all seriousness, considering MLB’s domestic guidelines contain no maximum penalty, MLB should really consider a season long penalty. As with Jose Reyes, MLB cannot come out weak in this. To put it in perspective, people went nuts over Ray Rice being suspended 12.5% of the season, which would equate to 20 games. They weren’t happy with Greg Hardy being suspended 25% of the season, which would be 41 games.
Now, we don’t know if the Dodgers backed out of their trade deal with the Reds due to moral grounds or due to the uncertainty of the length of the suspension. What we do know is that the domestic violence allegations didn’t deter the Yankees. No, the marquee franchise in baseball, perhaps in a of pro sports, traded for him. Not a joke of a franchise like the Marlins. No. He was obtained by The New York Yankees. In making the deal, the Yankees “did their due diligence”:
Cashman said Yankees did "due diligence" in researching Chapman's alleged domestic violence issue. Wouldn't speculate on possible suspension
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 28, 2015
What constitutes due diligence in this circumstance? Can Chapman help the bullpen? Does Chapman still throw 100 MPH? Do we have to give up a lot to get him? Do we care that he beats women?
That’s it in a nutshell. The Yankees don’t care about what he did. They don’t care as long as he helps them. If the Marlins do this, we roll our eyes at the despicable Jeffrey Loria. However, these are the Yankees. Look, even as a Mets fan, I can appreciate what the Yankees are. They’re the model franchise. They’re the gold standard.
They’re now tarnished. Sure, this doesn’t take away the 27 championships. However, what it does signal to the world is that baseball’s most important franchise doesn’t care about domestic violence. That’s not good for baseball. Really, it’s not good for anybody.
Of all the major pro sports, baseball is held to a higher standard. When the Yankees traded for Chapman, baseball failed to live up to that standard. I was a bad day for the Yankees. It was a bad day for baseball.
The only way to rectify this is for Rob Manfred to hit Chapman with a massive suspension. How does one month for each gunshot sound?
Note: photo was from prior arrest for Chapman speeding with a suspended license. It was not from the domestic violence allegations.
When you think of CBS and its news division, typically, the first name that comes to mind is Dan Rather (depending on your age). Dan Rather was forced into retirement for reporting on a story with insufficient documentation.
Rather thought he had the last great story of his career. He thought he had the smoking gun in what had forever been rumored: George W. Bush never served in the National Guard. Problem is the documents and source of the documents were utterly unreliable. As CBS was embarrassed by the ensuing scandal, it forced Rather out due to his perceived misconduct. Rather tried to sue to, in part, clear his good name. The lawsuit was thrown out.
John Heyman is also a reporter for a CBS owned company. With even less “proof” than Rather had on President Bush, Heyman accuses Mike Piazza of steroids use in his Hall of Fame column:
He should be considered an all-time great — he’s the greatest-hitting catcher ever and the value of having a catcher who’s one of the league’s best hitters is immense — but he’s had to wait a few years surely due to a strongly-held belief he participated in the steroid era. I understand there’s no public evidence he did more than play in the steroid era and looked the part. However, since this isn’t a court of law, the burden of proof is much lower and since it’s only about who is honored, and not who is punished, I held out for now.
Make no mistake about it. Heyman just accused Piazza of using steroids. Whether it is guilt by association or how he looked, he accused Piazza of using steroids. He offered no substantive proof. Additionally, with his voting for Barry Bonds because he was a Hall of Famer before using steroids (because he knows the exact date Bobds started using), he has announced Piazza only had the success he did because of his steroid usage.
If you were on Twitter, Heyman was given several attempts to recant his statements or provide specific evidence to establish Piazza used steroids. He didn’t:
@DanTonkin @RisingAppleBlog looking the part isn't evidence. read it rather than taking risings word for it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 29, 2015
By his reasoning, we can’t understand his writing. In a side note, that’s his fault if everyone seemingly took that as his meaning. I digress. His lack of a response just exhibits a lack of respect for anyone who has questions about his “learned ballot”:
I find it funny when voices on the internet — almost invariably stat guys and folks who only cover the game from a distance — declare which ballots are “strong” or stupid.
**********
[Tom Verducci and Pedro Gomez] are reporters who are willing to take the abuse from the loud and shallow guys on Twitter.
You see Heyman doesn’t cover the game from afar. He’s in the thick of things. Like when he’s in studio or on the phone with WFAN. He knows more than you. If people weren’t so “loud and shallow,” they would understand that. It’s how he knows Piazza used steroids, and you don’t. Nevermind that your knowledge would come from reporters like Heyman. Nevermind that he is withholding the information that would constitute proof.
Perhaps, he’s withholding it because he had insufficient proof to prove Piazza used steroids “in a court of law.” As such, he feels comfortable making this accusation. Here’s the problem. Do you know what the burden of proof is in a court of law? In a court of law, Heyman would need to show it is 51% more likely that Piazza used steroids than he didn’t. Ergo, no one is even half sure he used steroids. By logic extension, Heyman fabricated this story.
As we’ve seen, is it a surprise to anyone that a CBS reporter has leveled accusations against a public figure with underwhelming evidence? By using Heyman’s standards, does he deserve the benefit of the doubt? Using his standards, isn’t it fair to say he fabricates stories?
I would say it is fair to use his logic against him. However, I will make clear that despite the title of this post, I’m not saying he fabricates stories. Rather, I’m specifically saying he has presented no substantive proof Piazza used steroids. I sincerely question whether he has anything linking Piazza to steroid usage. He’s had ample opportunity to provide it, but he still refuses.
That’s a real problem. Writers are tasked with reporting news, not creating rumor and innuendo. When that happens, how are the Heymans of the world any better than TMZ or any other gossip site. We deserve better than that. The Hall of Fame deserves better than that. Mike Piazza deserves better than that. If the same was done to him, Jon Heyman would deserve better than that.
Accordingly, it’s time for Heyman to stop being a loud and shallow gossip mongerer and start being a reporter.
There are all sorts of pitching prospects. There are pitchers who were uber prospects like Matt Harvey. The question with these prospects is where they’ll slot in the rotation. Then there are prospects like Jeremy Hefner.
The prospects like Hefner aren’t no doubters. You’re not a no doubter when you’re a 5th round draft pick who was twice placed on waivers before pitching one big league inning. Hefner referred to himself as “an average prospect.” Average prospects need to make the best of not only their stuff, but also their chances. Somehow, it’s more satisfying when these guys make it. You want the Hefners of the world to succeed because you want to believe in a player that really is doing everything he can do. It’s what you tell yourself you would do if you had enough talent to get that chance.
Well, Hefner made the most of his chances. He showed the Mets enough in 2012 for him to be in the 2013 rotation (even though he might’ve been a placeholder for Zack Wheeler). As the calendar turned to June, he seemed to figure something out. He went on a stretch of eight straight starts allowing two earned or less. Now what happened next is up for debate. Initially, it was thought he regressed to the mean. The truth may just be he was injured. In August 2013, Hefner had Tommy John surgery.
It’s a crushing blow to a player who just arrived on the scene. It was also crushing to him, but also to the Mets. They lost not only Hefner, but also Harvey to a torn UCL. The two rehabbed together. Seeing Hefner’s promise, the Mets kept him around rather than release him. Then something horrible happened. Hefner was not progressing in his rehab. He needed a second surgery. It definitively ended his Mets career. It put his baseball career into question.
Anytime a player like Hefner suffers a setback like this it’s deflating. Part of what makes sports fun is the out of nowhere stories. Everyone knows Tom Brady’s and Mike Piazza‘s stories. They’re reminders that what you need to succeed in sports, and in life, is hard work and determination. Hefner had those qualities. His mind was willing, but his flesh seemed weak.
Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story. Hefner again worked his tail off. We shouldn’t expect anything else. He started pitching in the Winter Leagues. He pitched well enough to sign a minor league deal with the Cardinals. Normally, I hate the Cardinals and their players. However, I’m making an exception here. The world is a lot better when the Hefners of the world are given a chance to succeed. It’s even better when they do.
I thought the Mets should’ve brought him back. I thought he could’ve filled a need as a spot starter or a bullpen arm. Instead, Hefner is a Cardinal, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I’ll be rooting for him.
Good luck next year Jeremy Hefner.
It seems like long ago the Mets decided they didn’t want the expensive top end talent for 2016. They are actively seeking a deeper 25 man roster over a more talented starting nine. To that end, the Mets have interest in Steve Pearce.
Pearce is a career .246/.325/.431 right handed hitter. He has a career OPS+ of 105. He had a great 2014 hitting .293/.373/.556 with 21 homers, 49 RBI, and an OPS+ of 157 in 102 games. Last year, he had a steep drop off. He hit .218/.289/.422 with 15 homers, 40 RBI, and a 91 OPS+ in 92 games. Overall, this tells us he’s a bench player. You really never know what you’re going to get year to year. He has the potential to be really good and really bad. The question is if he can help the Mets.
The 2014 version can. The 2015 version was no better than Eric Campbell. On average, he’s a useful player. He’s an adequate 1B/OF. To that end, he could replace Michael Cuddyer‘s expected production, even if he won’t replace his clubhouse presence. If the Mets do obtain Pearce, it should be as an occasional started against tough lefties instead of being your prototypical National League bench player.
For his career, Pearce hits .238/.314/.400 against righties and .262/.343/.481 against lefties. With platoon splits like these, he is a good candidate to take at bats against tough lefties in place of Curtis Granderson or Michael Conforto. Just don’t ask him to pinch hit. As a pinch hitter, Pearce hits .170/.255/.284. Yes, 98 plate appearances is a small sample size, but those numbers are just bad no matter how you slice and dice it. Signing him fills out the roster almost completely. It also makes Wilmer Flores that top right handed pinch hitter. That’ll be hard with the Mets having him play everywhere next season.
Overall, Pearce could help the Mets. He may not be an exciting move, but then again depth moves rarely are. To that end, signing him would be the perfect end to the offseason.
Supposedly, this documentary was directed at Mets fans. As such, I really wanted to like it. With that said, wow that completely missed the mark.
Yes, completely. I know it’s an hour show. However, it missed so many HUGE storylines. First, there was no real mention of Matt Harvey. Seriously? He was coming back from Tommy John surgery. It was the reason for the flip-flopping on the six man rotation all season. There was the Yankee game. There was the innings limit drama. There was the whole keeping him in too long in Game 5. Harvey was a huge, important, and at times, divisive figure. He barely received a blurb.
Speaking of pitching. This could’ve been the year Jacob deGrom became the staff ace. He was utterly dominant in the first half. He was the story of the All Star Game. He opened the postseason with a 13 strikeout performance. He somehow gutted out Game 5 of the NLDS, which is known as The Murphy Game.
Both pitchers got less coverage than Steven Matz‘s debut and his grandfather. It was a big moment in the season, but also lost there was the Mets mismanaging his injury in a season of the Mets mismanaging injuries. Heck, Matz got more coverage than any pitcher. That includes Noah Syndergaard, who was probably standing 60′ 6′ away. It also includes Jeurys Familia, who got thrust into the closer’s role due to two Jenrry Mejia PED suspensions. Familia was arguably the team MVP, but you wouldn’t know if from any of this.
Speaking of MVPs, if he wasn’t interviewed, I wouldn’t have known Curtis Granderson was even on the team. Granderson may have been the sole professional bat on an injury ridden deplorable offense. We heard about David Wright‘s back, but we didn’t hear about any of the other injuries (even in passing) that led to John Mayberry, Jr. and Eric Campbell hitting in the middle of the lineup. How do you miss this? Ask any Mets fan, and they will tell you that was a seminal moment in the season.
It was part of the whole Mets mockery of the fans with Panic City. It lead to an important Mike Vaccaro column about the Mets malpractice. This column really touched upon what it meant to be a Mets fan since the Madoff scandal. We were angry. Very angry. There was a campaign to buy a billboard did the Wilpons to sell the team. That side of the story wasn’t voiced, not even with Joe & Evan.
Instead, we got The 7 Line Army story. I mean no disrespect to Darren Meenan and what he’s created, but why was The 7 Lime Army featured more than anything else? The 7 Line Army got more coverage than Yoenis Cespedes being the hottest hitter anyone has ever seen. Seriously, when Cespedes hit the NLDS homer, we saw The 7 Line Army celebrating instead of an epic bat flip. Interview Darren Meenan? Absolutely. He’s a fan, and he’s made a successful business out of his fandom. However, I’m sorry. The 7 Line Army was not the defining story of the 2015 season. Yet, it got a lot of coverage. Maybe the most coverage.
With that, a lot was missed. Think about it. There were many key games this past season. If you take longer than a nanosecond to pinpoint the Padres game as the nadir, you’re a casual fan. If you don’t know the game to which I’m referring, you’re not a Mets fan. That game set the stage for the exhilaration fans felt after the Cespedes’ trade. No matter your feelings about the trade, you were excited to se degree that the Mets were remade and going for it.
That trade flipped the script on the season for the fans . . . perhaps for the team as well. The Mets went from an under-.500 team falling apart at the seams to real contenders. They went from a laughingstock with the Carlos Gomez trade debacle to a force to be reckoned. The documentary took the incredible, real-life drama that unfolded and omitted it. You could do a mini-series on July 30th and July 31st. Instead, we get a snarky Tom Verducci comment about Mets fans not being happy. I would say the quote was taken out of context, but really, how could it be? Until that trade, the Mets had cheap owners and an under-.500 ball club. Any fan had a right to be angry.
That’s the thing overall. You simply cannot discuss the fans without capturing their anger. It’s an example of how passionate Mets fans are. We’re not the hapless bunch we were presented as to the world. We are fans that have lived through nightmares. There was the worst team ever assembled. The Midnight Massacre. There were the misses in the 80’s. The Worst Team Money Can Buy. Kenny Rogers walked in the series winning run. Mike Piazza‘s ball died on the warning track. Carlos Beltran struck out looking followed by two collapses. All hope was then seemingly lost with the Madoff scandal.
However, Mets fans have seen enough magic to believe in anything. The Miracle Mets. Ya Gotta Believe! A little roller up the first base line. The Grand Slam Single. Overall, Mets fans don’t expect the worst. We’re not Cubs fans or pre-2004 Red Sox fans. No, we believe anything can and will happen. It’s a feeling that was awoken with Harvey’s right arm. It’s a feeling that’s not going away.
So no, Tears of Joy didn’t tell the world about Mets fans. It missed the mark despite excellent work by Anthony DiComo, Jared Diamond, and Jim Breuer.
Also, it didn’t tell me about the team or the season. From my understanding of Tears of Joy, Daniel Murphy had a hot streak before losing the World Series with an error. All 27 homerun Lucas Duda did was make a poor throw home. I could go on and on ad nauseum, but you get it. You watched the season. You know just as well as I do that Tears of Joy didn’t do a good job describing the ups and [mostly] downs of the season.
No, overall it mostly failed to capture the season or the fans. It’s disappointing really, just as the end of the 2015 season was. I guess there it at least hit the right tone.
One of the biggest punchlines about Steve Phillips tenure as the Mets GM has been this:
https://twitter.com/metsrewind/status/681155190020554752
Not his personal conduct. No, he’s routinely mocked for the Mo Vaughn trade. To this day, I do not understand the vitriol over the deal. I guess it’s because Mets fans do not realize the Mets won that trade. Seriously.
First, keep in mind the Mets gave up Kevin Appier. That’s it. Yes, the same Kevin Appier the Mets signed after they lost the World Series instead of making big moves to improve the team. Yes, I’m talking about the 2000 offseason, not this one. Appier signed a four year $42 million contract with the Mets.
In his only year with the Mets, Appier was decent going 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.185 WHIP. He would then be traded for Mo Vaughn. Appier was good again in 2002. He has a ring despite having a historically bad World Series start. Appier was bad, really bad, in 2003. Despite being owed over $15 million on his deal, he was released. Appier would go back to Kansas City, where he would pitch only 23 innings more between 2003 and 2004 before retiring and putting an end to a very good big league career.
In exchange, the Mets got the impressive batting practice hitter Mo Vaughn (the last Met to wear 42). Say what you will about Mo Vaughn. You’re probably right. His 2002 wasn’t as bad as people remember with Vaughn hitting .259/.349/.456 with 26 homers and 72 RBI. It was good for an OPS+ of 115. It’s more impressive when you consider he missed the 2001 season due to injury. Like Appier, his 2003 was a nightmare. Like Appier, his career was effectively over after the 2003 season.
So why did the Mets win the trade? No, it was not because of this homer:
I was at that game. It was awesome. However, this was Vaughn’s line highlight. In reality, Vaughn’s play had nothing to do with the Mets winning this trade.
No, the Mets won the trade due to Vaughn’s insurance policy. Vaughn’s arthritic knee prevented him from playing again. Like Appier, Vaughn was terrible in 2003, and his career was effectively over. The Angels paid Appier $12 million in 2004 alone to go away. The Mets only owed Vaughn $4.25 million over the next two years. The remainder of the $17 million owed was paid by insurance.
The Mets didn’t do anything with the money found that offseason, but they would invest it the next offseason when they signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. So overall, the Mo Vaughn deal was really beneficial to the Mets regardless of whether or not anyone wants to recognize it.
There are still reasons to mock Steve Phillips, but this trade wasn’t one them.
I still can’t believe this will be my son’s third Christmas.
For the first one, he wasn’t even a month old. I still don’t know how we pulled it off, but my wife and I hosted that year. Seriously, the ability to do anything with a one month old is a Herculean feat. The only thing I remember was I constantly played my favorite Christmas song as a way to soothe a crying baby:
Now, my son is older. It’s all about A Charlie Brown Christmas. He knows it’s Jesus’ birthday. He knows Santa brings presents on Christmas Day. He made cookies with mommy to leave for Santa. He’s all excited. It’s great to see him excited.
Every kid is excited around Christmas. Christmas is a magical time of year. Somewhere down the line each and every adult loses the magic. That is until you see a child at Christmas. They understand this time of year better than anyone. When you see them, it takes you back. You remember when Santa brought you that special toy. Mostly, you remember family.
I remember getting together at my grandparent’s house each Christmas Eve. I remember sitting down with my family to dinner. Those dinners. Nana was the best cook. Then an uncle would dress as Santa while my cousins and I would get excited for our presents. I reminds falling asleep on the drive home.
Then Santa came! He brought presents because I was good all year. I remember having hot cocoa in my Santa mug as my mother made breakfast. I cherish these memories. It’s the type of memories I want to create for my son. I want to recapture that magic for him.
I mostly want to recapture that magic this year. For the past month or so, my father has not been doing well. He just had his second surgery in a month. He didn’t respond well to the first one, but so far so good after Tuesday’s surgery.
It’s why I want to recapture this magic this year more than any prior year. More than anything I want to give my son an amazing Christmas. I also want my family to enjoy it without any worries. We’ve had enough of those lately. Now is just a time to bask in that Christmas magic, even if it’s just for a couple of days.
I hope this Christmas finds you and your family happy and healthy. I hope you can recapture some of that Christmas magic even if it is for a day or so.
Merry Christmas!
There are always players we like more than others. Putting aside Obviously Mets, I liked Kirk Nieuwenhuis more than your average fan.
Every year, my brother and I have the same argument. I think of Nieuwenhuis as a useful player. He’s a solid defender at three outfield positions. He is a platoon player/fourth outfielder. His problem has always been the fact that he’s overexposed by a poor Mets team needing to play him more frequently than he should.
Most Mets fans were like my brother. They saw a guy with admittedly underwhelming statistics. At times, Kirk was one of the symbols of what was wrong with the Mets. This season the Mets were so bad offensively that they had to bring back Kirk after he was released by the Angels. The Angels had originally obtained him after the Mets designated him for assignment.
When he returned, he would become the first Met to hit three home runs in a home game:
He helped send the Mets into the All Star Break with a sweep of the Diamondbacks. He helped the Mets stay within two games of the Nationals. This allowed the Mets to make some deadline moves to help overtake the Nationals. He then put the final nail in the 2015 Nationals coffin:
Kirk went from cast away to afterthought to a contributor. He would make the post season roster. Unfortunately, he won’t be on the roster next year to help the Mets defend their National League title. A title he helped the Mets obtain.
No, Kirk is now a Brewer. He was put on waivers to make room for Alejandro De Aza. I’d prefer the Mets to waive someone else. I’d like Kirk to remain with the Mets. This time though the Mets will lose a homegrown player to the Nationals. There’s no hip issues stopping this move. None. Unlike Wilmer Flores, Kirk is now an ex-Met.
Kirk will never be forgotten. He’s the answer to a trivia question. I’ll remember him more for that pinch hit homerun. I’ll remember him more for how hard he played. I’ll always appreciate him for what he did with the Mets.
Thank you Kirk.
In some ways it’s ironic that Festivus is the first full day in which the Mets fans lost all hope for the continuation of Cespedes. It all started with this:
Oh my god. @Mets
I can't believe I can actually say this, but is it true that there is now
"A Cespedis for the rest of us"?#mets#T7L— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) July 31, 2015
Now, it unofficially ends with the Mets signing Alejandro De Aza. Personally, I thought the Mets didn’t have room anymore for Yoenis Cespedes. I didn’t like the trade that brought him here. But boy oh boy did I enjoy the ride.
We can all debate whether Cespedes was the reason the Mets won the NL East. Undoubtedly, he was a huge help to the cause. Furthermore, he added fun and excitement to a season which was frustrating and at times hard to watch. Seemingly overnight the Mets went from a team barely scoring any runs to a high powered offense. That offense was powered by La Potencia.
If nothing else, Cespedes made the Mets fun to watch with plays like these:
Also, let’s not forget the arm sleeve and the parakeet:
Whatever you want to say about Cespedes, you have to admit he brought energy to the team and the fanbase. He was fun to watch. He was the type of player you had to stop to watch. At any moment, he could unleash a laser from the outfield to nail a runner, or he could hit one out of the park in the blink of an eye.
When Cespedes was at his best, there were none like him. He made the game fun. He made the game exciting. I’m sincerely going to miss that. I appreciate all he did in his short time in Queens. He deserves the standing ovations when he returns. He will deserve the invitations back to Citi Field when the Mets celebrate big events. While Cespedes was only a Met for three months, he left his mark here. I wish him the best of luck.
Thank you for your time here Cespedes.
