Yoenis Céspedes Had the Most CONFUSING Career in MLB History. Here's How It All Went Down.

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On the morning of August 2nd, 2020, fans of the New York Mets awoke to unexpected news: their left fielder had gone missing.
Now, it’s not as if Mets fans are strangers to weird stories about their team. In fact, the only predictable thing about Queens’ finest ballclub is how unpredictable it is. But even for fans of the most dysfunctional team in baseball, the news that Yoenis Céspedes - their once-beloved star turned pariah - had seemingly vanished into thin air came as a bit of a shock.
To those who had been paying attention, Céspedes’ sudden disappearance came as no surprise. Let’s take a look at the one-in-a-million set of circumstances that led Yoenis Céspedes to have what very well may have been the weirdest career in Major League Baseball history.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @BaseballHSTRN
2nd Channel: Baseball His2rian
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SOURCES
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00​ - 1:39 Introduction
1:40 - 2:16 The Showcase
2:17 - 3:04 SeatGeek
3:05 - 5:56 Cuba
5:57 - 9:35 Oakland
9:36 - 11:11 The Throw
11:12 - 13:50 Boston + Detroit
13:51 - 16:59 2015
17:00 - 23:01 New York
23:02 - 25:46 The Injury
25:47 - 27:56 The End
27:57 - 29:13 What's Next?
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[@JollyOlive]

Hard pressed to find a player more deserving a full-length deep dive like this, Citi Field is truly the house that Cespedes built.

[@nomorefielders]

And subsequently destroyed

[@adammeyer1441]

Idk I'd still say that Citi Field is still the house that David Wright built

[@SexyUndisputed2All]

Said that bout piazza then Wright then pitcher who's always gets hurt

[@StinkyCashFlatEarth]

12:02- The Red Sox won the 2013 world series. You clearly made an error here

[@alexbenton6306]

David Wright, who had played for the Mets since before it was built, when it was built, the day it opened, for 4 more years than Cespedes and 882 games to Cespedes 316: Am I a joke to you? 🤡 comment

[@TheTEN24]

Talk about a confusing player. His time on the Mets was such a shooting star. So bright yet faded just as fast. He got the bag and changed

[@kapo2012fb]

Yeah man it was crazy

[@MrShanester117]

Yeah that’s what the video is about

[@TheTEN24]

@@MrShanester117 oh damn! I should have Known

[@NYFanatic]

Yeah, but I wanted nothing to do with him after how he didn't do shit in the world series. He's a "me, me, me" guy. He misplayed that fly ball in game one and he should have been benched. Kirk Niewenhuis wasn't that great, but he fills in the OF nicely whenever necessary.

[@bryanmurphy276]

@@NYFanatic whole series goes different if he catches that. Lagares makes that play 100% of the time.

[@Paulog1990]

Every couple of years, players who get traded at the all star break will make a difference on their new teams. In 2015, Cespedes single handedly put the Mets on his back and carried them to the postseason. He went on an absolute tear the second half of the year. It was so much fun to watch him each game. And although the Mets lost in the WS, Cespedes helping us get there was a sports memory I’ll never forget.

[@jefflewis4]

The Mets don't get to series in 2015 without Cespedes, if the other stuff that happened afterwards was the price to pay, he was worth it IMO. Though he did have a solid 2016.

[@edlocks5112]

Facts he turned us into a contender over night

[@armadillolover99]

I know it’s not the same impact, but Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson were huge additions too and it’s sad they’re not talked about enough. That trade gave us two guys who were good enough to start on a lot of teams and made it so the Mets didn’t have to rely on guys like John Mayberry, Darrell Ceciliani, Daniel Muno and the disaster that was Eric Campbell. We finally had actual depth

[@elmayimbe5094]

This shit was like Linsanity that first year we got him in the summer. I want to say he had 2, 3 run homerun games that year. One against Philly and one against the Rockies. Dude was must see tv that whole summer when we got him.

[@alexjones5987]

Juan uribe and Kelly Johnson hit 200 they were awful and made the team worse so no

[@rtyable]

As an A’s fan let me tell you something my guy you completely undersold the effect of the cespedes/Lester trade. We went from best record in baseball at the break, to barely getting in as the 2nd wildcard with 88 wins. Forget his numbers simply having him in the lineup made teams pitch around him and gave Donaldson and Moss more pitches to hit. With him not in the lineup anymore teams pitched around Donaldson and went right after Moss. Team chemistry suffers and the team fell apart. Lester was subpar and looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. That trade haunts a lot if not all us A’s fans. Not to say we didn’t expect a trade at some point but not during the season, maybe after the season.

[@goodapollo19]

I bought a Cepedes jersey two days before he got traded... it was truly heartbreaking.

[@nxxdle_]

funny that that trade haunts us red sox fans too... never shoulda traded lester, should've extended lester for what he was worth. at least we dealt him for rick porcello.

[@briansonnenfelt7125]

I was so confused when we traded him. A’s fans are used to the trades and all that, but that one was one of the most confusing and useless trades I have ever seen.

[@MiguelMartinez-yh9df]

Yeah that was not a good day

[@brandonbec10p]

I remember that trade!! And the as were rolling to a championship and then boom

[@thischannelisnolongeractive.]

not even a Mets fan but that 2015 montage @ 14:00 gave me chills. Yoenis was the man, if only for a short time period.

[@S.and.I.Productions]

Yeah! Especially at 15:00 when the Met’s record was synced up with the music as they moved up the standings. Amazing edit!

[@pikapal91]

Allegedly Cespedes will be participating in Old Timers Day at Citi Field this season for the Mets.

[@Lt.Toad92]

Another odd footnote about Cespedes’s time in Oakland - the A’s had planned a “La Potencia” t-shirt giveaway for August 2nd, 2014, two days after he was traded to Boston. They went ahead with the promotion and gave away the shirts anyway.

[@jacobjancsura3466]

Similar thing happened in Cleveland after Victor Martinez was traded to Boston, the team went ahead with his bobblehead giveaway a couple days after the deal

[@OldSkewlPantz]

Yea, my wife and I have those lol

[@BestofWhatsAround83]

Cespedes was clearly a 5-tool player, yet the Tigers, A's, and Boston all refused to give him a long-term contract......a huge red flag right there in retrospect.

[@parkeravant]

Not really he literally mention tigers knew they weren’t pushing playoffs anymore as a team

[@mattbrown5921]

@@parkeravant he is saying teams knew he wouldn't play as hard if he got paid.. and thats pretty much exactly what happened

[@metalmeltdown452]

The redsox are notoriously cheap when it comes to long term deals. The As don't do it either.

[@Alan-rw3ez]

@@metalmeltdown452 except the redsox gave a lot of money to David Price, pablo sandoval, hanley ramirez, jd martinez, chris sale, dustin pedroia, trevor story, xander bogaerts and even offered mookie betts 300 million twice before he was traded.

[@Tokamat640]

@@Alan-rw3ez he said long term deals

[@MikeJr9284]

As a Mets fan, I can attest to the fact that Cespedes’ tenure with us was one heck of a rollercoaster. On one hand, I was happy that he was one of the reasons why the Mets made the playoffs in 2015. On the other hand, I was disappointed because he couldn’t stay healthy and decided to opt out in the middle of the shortened 2020 season without telling anyone. Mind you, Cespedes opted out mid season 2 years ago after years of recovering from nagging injuries too.

[@alwillk]

He also hit .190 in the playoffs in 2015. Partly the reason why we couldn’t beat the lowly royals.

[@diablo55]

@@alwillk Yeah we had a lot of bad luck in general in that series, it was completely winnable if our team, especially Daniel Murphy and Cespedes, played like they did against the Dodgers and Cubs

[@respectedlocalgentleman7108]

​@@alwillk Pretty fuckin ballsy a Met fan calling anybody "lowly". Before Uncle Steve bailed you guys out, you were the biggest bums in baseball.

[@padraig5335]

@@alwillk The lowly Royals? Are you talking about the same team that went to back to back world series, re created how people look at the bullpen, and ran through many of opponents? Yeah lowly and my royals those two years don't go together. Maybe Harvey should of came out? We also destroyed your closer everytime he went out. The Mets suck, they are a crap franchise with money. One of the best teams in baseball at time isn't lowly.

[@padraig5335]

@@diablo55 Well Harvey didn't have to stay in the game and closer Familia was getting destroyed by us too. Could of should of would of. Loved sticking it to Mets and Astros fans.

[@3cardmonty602]

I have followed the A’s since I first saw them play in 1969. I noticed that when Cespedes went East his whole baseball world fell apart. I think he loved the A’s that much. He loved the fans. He loved the California weather.

[@chocolatechipslime]

I wish he would have stayed on the A’s but imo that Bay Area weather sucks. I see people in the stands wearing jackets in July. It’s too cool, windy and gloomy

[@twocooleetoh3128]

No he didn’t He loved money and it got to his head.

[@andrem.thomas332]

@@chocolatechipslime Where are you from?

[@RetroBaseball]

There’s just nothing like 29 minutes of Baseball Historian on a Wednesday morning.

[@biggertonouncertonthethird76]

Every baseball channel I go, I see his face. *shows rb pfp*

[@philmccrevis5364]

Uh....its Friday, pal.

[@redrangers12330]

Should have been like 15 min these are so drawn out

[@drucexx]

when i hear the name yoenis cespedes, the first thing that comes to mind is the throw. one of the most iconic plays in mlb history, don’t think i’ll ever be able to forget seeing that throw on first pitch before school when i was 13.

[@vetoland92]

Totally forgot that Cespedes was on the Red Sox AND Tigers at one point lol. I just remember him as an As/Mets player.

[@briansonnenfelt7125]

Everyone remembers the throw, but many forget the day after he had an almost equally amazing one to get Pujols at third.

[@ZacharyDManprin]

Some remember the play and the fact he botched a routine play to begin with.

[@darnelldarden9429]

I’m a Mets fan and was thrilled when we signed Cespedes. He could hit, had some speed and a cannon. I just felt like he just didn’t wanna play baseball anymore

[@rmakids]

He didn't want to move his butt unless he felt like it

[@nickv4073]

Give the guy a break. He had bad feet. Tough to play like that.

[@bryaneverett2174]

He got his money and "lost" his passion, but he bought some nice toys.

[@edgoodwin4389]

I don’t think that was the case. He couldn’t recover fully from his injuries. The way he left though is questionable.

[@willster8759]

As a Mets fan Cespedes is one of my favorite players ever! He gave us so much to hope for and was so exciting to watch. Sad the way his career ended with all the injuries, but I will treasure getting to watch him and how he helped us to an NL Pennant.

[@masonseymour2455]

Fun fact: the man responsible for the A's acquiring Yoenis Cespedes was a sabermetric analyst named Farhan Zaidi. Yes, the Farhan Zaidi that's now running the Giants.

[@markusallard2830]

I remember watching his workout video on youtube and was wanting the giants to pick him up all those years ago. I'm glad we have Farhan now though!

[@masonseymour2455]

@@markusallard2830 same

[@rdk2323]

Glad you cleared that up, thought there might be another Farhan Zaidi in the bay area

[@tibalt966]

I was at the throw game. I don’t remember anything else from that game, but I remember that moment. Absolutely the most insane thing’s I’ve ever seen with my own eyes

[@BaseballAF]

he is definitely an aspect of the definition of lightning: unpredictable and powerful great stuff

[@recon_p1990]

That 2015 season was amazing, I was Deployed and it for sure kept me going. Cespedes brought that spark we needed.

[@BaseballQuotes1]

Yo was such an interesting personality combined with insane talent. Was a joy to watch on the field and wish his career was a bit longer

[@joeblow9657]

This video brings back really good memories. Thanks for making it!

[@guyfuller1369]

Love how you tell a story, man!

[@WiLDCATZ]

This channel needs WAYYYY more subs. One of the best if not the best MLB recent history channels on YT. The production quality is so good.

[@Houseofden]

How does this channel only have 26.4K subscribers?!? Nothing but quality!

[@lucasmcclain3088]

Hey Baseball Historian, keep doing your thing and uploading these videos, they are really great bro for real!!! The numbers will catch up soon if you keep going. I don't know how you don't have a million subs already, but trust me you will get there eventually, your content is too good not to! Don't be discouraged and keep the content coming, this is really good stuff!

[@howboutemjackson9128]

Yoenis got that golden arm. But for me "the throw" will always be ichiro sniping Terrance Long at 3rd base with a Lazer shot from deep right field and Dave Niehouse making an iconic call. Nice video bro.

[@SpudSpudoni]

Woooowww that middle montage of the 2015 season was legitimately professional. Rhythm of those cuts and visual style feel so fresh. You have a lot of talent. Well done.

[@YungJ]

I love finding new baseball channels, great vid!

[@jb_jr0]

Céspedes was the player who got me into baseball I remember his time on the mets vividly and how much I loved watching Céspedes play, how his career went really saddens me because of how much he meant to the mets and how quickly his career faded away

[@mattlovelltv3794]

Broooo I remember being so hyped and following Cespedes' journey. This was awesome

[@gkdunch]

I just want to say I live the editing of the entire 2015 portion, damn good job!

[@CrackSkellington]

Honestly, you’re the best baseball storyteller on KZbin rn. They feel like the Jeff Francour and Lonnie Smith pretty good vids. Thank you

[@TheOfficialPHC]

Great video! Honestly, I forgot about Cespedas! Thank You for this video!

[@mlbjmaur]

Amazing documentary bravo

[@bobbywasabi3039]

Been watching for about a year now and I gotta say this is your best vid ever

[@justinmccollin73]

@15:00 this became my favorite baseball video. Thank you for this gem @Baseball Historian

[@IronManSua]

Yo first time here, and I have to say the edit of 2015 Mets Cespedes segment goes hard! Good informative video man, good job. New sub

[@stop....hammertime]

Dope channel!🙌 Love it!

[@luissora5833]

Great video, Mets fan here and a cespedes lover. So sad he didn't stick around. Still have his jersey.

[@AndThatsBaseball]

The 2015 edit is HEAT

[@ryanadverderada3973]

That montage edit was straight fire

[@kobebaynes946]

Really nice done video love your channel 👍🏾

[@jone0155]

Seeing Mr.Met giving the bird brings me so much laughter.

[@mpound97]

As a Mets fan, I just recently watched a KZbin video of the 2015 season and the impact Yo had when he came over. An incredible player when healthy but definitely had some quirks.

[@MarquisdeSuave]

It really wasnt that weird of a career. Cespades signed a huge contract with the Mets and then just stopped giving a crap because he got paid the same if he hit .300 with power as he did if he was on the IR.

[@Redsoxking]

IR? You mean injured list?

[@MarquisdeSuave]

@@Redsoxking yes, Injured Reserves

[@CubaDugout]

During a recent trip to Havana I talked with former teammates of Yosmany Tomas and they thought the pay check spoiled him.

[@jonnytheboy7338]

He was seen many times on the golf course during some of his IR stays.. as a Mets fan I would be watching a game when he was playing and wonder when he was going to pull up and limp back to the dugout..

[@codyscards6698]

@@CubaDugout tomas is the biggest disappointment in Diamondbacks history.

[@BigSal2417]

That Mets montage when he got there went hardddd 🔥🔥🔥

[@iRiiiiiSSS]

I remember the day I found out :( Young A’s fan, moved from California to Virginia in 2014 for school. Prepared to stay up late every day to watch my team play on east coast time. Found out a few days later my favorite player was traded….not too much longer my second favorite player was traded (Donaldson). All this combined with the stress of school caused my passion for baseball to unravel for years.

[@jacobsen10]

That 2015 compilation was awesome. Gave me insane nostalgia.

[@justinkeizer2386]

As an Oakland A’s fan I am grateful for the AWESOME couple of years he gave to us with his electric playstyle

[@frankthespank]

I’m an Oakland A’s fan and when Cespedes left our team for the Met’s it was weird for us too. He was so beloved on the A’s, it was a Cinderella story too with Billy Beane (Brad Pitt, Moneyball) signing him to the A’s and right as Cespedes was soaring… traded. Gone. 😢

[@kushclarkkent6669]

IDK why but "(Brad Pitt, Moneyball)" made me laugh way harder than it should have. Thanks to that damn movie I imagine Billy as Brad in my head whenever I read about him. 😂

[@ColbyePresents]

*Good stuff!*

[@aaronp552]

Great video especially the song selection at 14:45

[@Carlito_Sway]

Love the NL East standings cutting in rhythm to the music @15:00. That's good editing, folks.

[@toneriggz]

Cespedes was exactly what the Mets needed in 2015. Sadly, choosing to sign him over Daniel Murphy bit the Mets on the a$$. Cespedes was great when he was healthy. But he was consistently injured. Murphy became a hitting machine. The Mets endured so many inconsistent years of Murphy but he finally developed into an incredible hitter towards the end of his Mets run.

[@arthurcooperman3106]

They had the money to sign both, the "coupons" just weren't willing to give Murph the money he deserved. And he spanked us in the ass in 16 and 17 with two MVP worthy seasons in Washington.

[@alexjones5987]

Mets were 70 games under 500 with Murphy without cespedes

[@alexjones5987]

Cespedes protection is what helped Murphy

[@tomdemay6147]

correct but the truth is the thing that bit the Mets in the ass was cheap ass Wilpon. The Mets should have signed both Cespedes and Murphy.

[@toneriggz]

@@tomdemay6147 I call them The Coupons

[@raider3164]

That was entertaining. Sometimes I fast forward the details but I watched the whole vid. Dam good vid.

[@gardenboydon]

random but that old 2011 KZbin interface brings back memories

[@camscams3269]

I love this guys channel, it’s like a mini 30 for 39

[@bryanbohlken7653]

The quality of this video was A+++++

[@zeeee985]

Great video

[@irohsaim]

I am a A's fan, used to drum in left field in 2012, cespades has been my favorite player sice i was literally 4. he made my favorite number 52.

[@noahcootz6735]

9:11 Bartolo smacks the hell out of that Child behind Cespedes 😂

[@SmoothAce420]

🤣🤣🤣

[@drewcundari8773]

the mid video mixtape in this type of video a really cool idea

[@mustbtrouble]

one of my all time favorites. he was the first free agent the A's signed in years. cespedes won everyone over immediatly gaving the team a intangible energy only the greatest players possess. im not saying he was an all time great, but he had in him the ability to carry teams. a few notable things you forgot to mention-after that outfield assist "the throw" he threw out a 2nd runner at home that same game nearly as impressive from almost the same place! when he was traded from the A's , the team went from best record in mlb to sneaking into a road wildcard game. the very day he was traded the team had scheduled a "la potencia" tshirt giveaway. the bbq at the close of his rookie hype video was also epic. A's fans will never have a bad word for Yo.

[@chaossst6386]

I like these kinds of videos

[@valhallaoutcast]

That throw from LF thowing out Kendrick is still one of the best outfield assists ive ever seen

[@prodigalsongod]

hands down.

[@camerondalgleish1863]

The Mets had to sign him after 2016, they could not have let him walk. They would've been eaten alive at the time and they desperately needed him in the lineup. Yes I know full well the deal was a disaster. Both things can be true here. The reality is after 2016, he could not stay on the field whatsoever. There's numerous reasons for why that was, it's just a shame because his career could've been so much more.

[@ToxicAvengerCleanYourMind]

Every team makes those mistakes...every mega signing is a gamble...Chris Davis has to be the worst

[@respectedlocalgentleman7108]

@@ToxicAvengerCleanYourMind Bro, Homer Bailey got a hundred mil. Davis was at least elite once.

[@throwerofthings2841]

the Mets highlight was awesome

[@onthedownside6813]

He was exciting to watch,from a long time Met fan!

[@markzuckergecko621]

Love these videos, baseball is so dominated by analytics, I think even us fans can sometimes forget the "behind the numbers" baseball stories, even if we were there for them in real time. They tend to just get buried under the "who won the World Series" and "who was the MVP", etc etc storylines.

[@SmoothAce420]

Goddamn this is so true

[@respectedlocalgentleman7108]

Analytics are ass aids. Literally.

[@ZacharyDManprin]

Just a dumb comment. The video literally points to data and analytics to tell the story. Maybe try to understand analytics and what they are first, then you can try and use data to disparage them. Opinions don’t mean anything without facts, i.e. data, the back them up.

[@TrainingwithIsaac]

Dope video 🍿

[@yankees29]

I remember drafting him rookie year on the A’s in fantasy and everyone laughed at me. Including a few Mets fans we have in my league.

[@franguidry2017]

Great story!

[@jopilot4126]

I remember them crazy workout videos him doing them crazy leg presses

[@jrodriguez3281]

From all A’s fans. Thank you Cespedes. La potencia!

[@joshuapatrick682]

dude made 142 million playing for like 7 years...I'd say he played the game to perfection.

[@grantingtherant1465]

A's players traded to the Mets: Injured and miss out on most of the season A's players traded to the Blue Jays: MVP candidate

[@andrewsmith3512]

The Mets montage is amazing

[@RustBucketx]

The return of the king

[@BAYAREA-kd1ig]

Enjoyed his time with the A's. One of the most exciting players to wear the green and gold for that 2 1/2 seasons.

[@Jayson-xn7js]

It was Awesome hearing the ball crack off the bat when he played here in Oakland

[@toolboxnj]

Remembering Yo's run after the Mets acquired him, it was nothing short of incredible.

[@toddlicata7071]

The first Mets contract would have actually worked out ok if the Mets let him walk after he opted out. I felt weird bout it at the time because I feel like the Mets just pushed back a year of his prime before they finally gave him the 4 year deal and people were pressuring them to resign him. He was the best position player on a playoff team in 2016 and they did what they were reluctant to do a year earlier even though he just spent another year of his prime.

[@johnoster4098]

As a Giants fan who was dating an A's fan (don't ask) during his tenure in Oakland, I must say he was a once in a generation player. The game when he had two outfield assists at home was straight out of Hollywood, was hard to believe the man could have any precision from that far. Mad respect to Yo.

[@KT-bw4cv]

As a Mets fan I have to say those Mets highlights are 🔥

[@canoilas7894]

the mets montage was fire

[@Pwnzistor]

Yo, that Mets collage track is a banger

[@Metfan722]

While not a "comeback", Céspedes is coming back to the Mets. He, along with many other Mets greats, are returning for Old Timer's Day

[@jerseymade2754]

One of the best A’s players💯

[@FattyMcButterPants6]

@Baseball Historian you should seriously consider working with @Baseball doesn't exist on a collaboration!!!

[@VenomousStare]

Great video. The shock effect you spam is really loathsome though.

[@ChrisSmith-5655]

I had the exact same right field throw in fall ball in 93

[@I_Be_Stevie]

Well...I didn't expect to see my apartment building staring right at me as the first part of this video's introduction 0_0.....Hiiiiii Electchester :D

[@quantumfootball]

Thank you, Ahman Green.

[@joshuaweiss8280]

Yoenis Cespedes will forever have a place in my heart as the first diamond I ever pulled in mlb the show back in 15

[@Aeolus_ca]

I was there on his mlb debut in oakland, he hit a bomb to left center

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

These guys from Cuba can’t seem to function here. They go from a communISt upbringing to millions? It’s hard. Puig is another example.

[@nomorefielders]

I mean I think MLB should expand their mental health outreach program. Many of these players make the journey overseas knowing they will have limited contact with their families In addition to being in a country where everyone is a stranger. It’s why I wish the Marlins were more proactive with signing Cuban players (which they’ve been more open to recently) bc at least there is a semblance of the rich Cuban culture down there.

[@CubaDugout]

Chicago (Abreu) & Houston (Gurriel) have built better cultures for Cuban imports by 1st signing more mature players but having that support system to help with the fast money, fast cars, fast women and fastballs.

[@DropYourFear]

Every now and again when the mets really piss me off I go back and watch the 2015 playoff run highlights. I will always have adoration for Cespedes for the impact he had on the Mets that year.

[@nepzski]

after learning alot about anatomy strengths of the body and certain exercises i realize alot of sports injuries can be prevented with simple exercises for example a nordic curl would delete the chances to get a hamstring strain

[@nathanalexander1479]

The most random but also the hardest cespedes edit I’ve ever seen