In a rare English interview, Yoenis Cespedes spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle about how much he enjoyed his time as an Oakland Athletic, and his future career plans.
After Cespedes had defected from Cuba, it was the Oakland Athletics who gave the then 26 year old Cespedes his first Major League contract and an opportunity to play in the United States.
During his time in Oakland, Cespedes went to the postseason in his first two seasons, finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, won the 2013 Home Run Derby, and he was a 2014 All Star. It was during that 2014 season Cespedes was traded to the Boston Red Sox.
Cespedes was emotional about the trade being upset he was leaving a place he loved and called home. It should then come as no surprise that Cespedes would one day want to return to Oakland. While professing his love for the team and the city that gave him his first opportunity, he told Slusser:
“I told [Jerry Blevins], ‘I don’t know how many years I’m going to play, but I’m going to play the last year of my career with Oakland.’ I don’t know if that’s possible or not, but that’s my goal.”
For reference, Blevins has been teammates with Cespedes both on the Athletics and the Mets.
For Cespedes, it was more than just the city and the team. It was also his manager Bob Melvin. In the article both Melvin and Cespedes expressed a fondness for one another with Cespedes going a step further.
“I tell my guys here all the time that he’s the best manager for me so far. I don’t think there’s a better manager than Melvin.”
Now, it should be noted that nowhere in the article does Cespedes have anything negative to say about Terry Collins, his teammates, the Mets organization, the City of New York, or Mets fans.
As for Cespedes’ feelings towards the Mets, he has often stated his desire to return after the 2015 season, and he signed a long term contract to remain a Met after the 2016 season.
