Yoenis Cespedes arrived to Mets camp in Port St. Lucie on Sunday and spoke briefly with reporters telling them he feels “just like coming home” and is very relaxed. Asked about the added pressure of playing under his new deal with the Mets, Cespedes smiled and said, “I work hard. I’m not too concerned with the contract.”
The 30-year old slugger reiterated his reasons for re-signing with the Mets saying that it felt right, that the chemistry was natural, that he loved the fans, and that there was a feeling of having unfinished business after falling short in the World Series. “Everything. The fans. the coaches. The teammates. Such a positive atmosphere.”
Manager Terry Collins is glad to have Cespedes in camp early because it shows he’s team-first guy.
“To have Ces here, it just shows you he wants to be a part of it. He loves the clubhouse, he loves the atmosphere, he wants to be a part of it. Now he’s coming in to be a big part of it. I think that sends a huge message to the other guys that ‘hey, look, he’s not just talking. He’s for real.’”
Hitting coach Kevin Long told the Bergen Record that he was “hoping and praying” the Mets would bring the right-handed hitting slugger back. “Obviously the dynamics of having him in our lineup and with us is huge. A middle-of-the-order guy who we know what he did for us and we know he can play in New York is huge.”
The Mets offense was floundering before they traded for Cespedes last Summer, ranking last in runs scored and slugging. But the team surged with his bat in the middle of the order, leading the NL in runs, extra-base hits, slugging and OPS over the final two months of the season. Cespedes blasted 17 homers and posted a .942 OPS during that span.
“One guy of his caliber can lengthen your lineup and make it significantly better, and that’s what he does,” Long said of Cespedes. “Playing center field, running the bases, his arm, his ability to drive in runs, he hits for power, hits for average, so there’s not a lot of those guys out there. Being able to sign him and put him in our lineup, it makes us a different ballclub.”
For Cespedes, he has his mind fixed on one thing.
“It was very important for me to rejoin my teammates and finish what we started here with the New York Mets. We have some unfinished business that we intend to take care of this season. It was very important to me.”
“I want to convince all my teammates that we have it within us to finish what we started last year. That is the mission. That is the focus. We have everything in place to win it all. We are in it to win it.”
There you have it. La Potencia… Locked and Loaded. I have the sudden urge to say, “It’s Clobbering Time.” LGM
