/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52059409/597899536.0.jpeg)
Yoenis Cespedes is back with the Mets. Hooray! Cespedes has had some great moments as a member of the Mets. Here are videos of ten of his best, in chronological order.
8/15/2015: Cespedes makes ridiculous throw to third base to prevent triple
This was Cespedes’s first signature moment as a Met. In the top of the 9th inning, with the score tied 3-3, Cespedes made a ridiculous throw from center field to prevent a triple. Gary Cohen’s call is also incredible.
8/21/2015: Cespedes hits three home runs in one game against the Rockies
Juan Uribe teased Cespedes after the game that three home runs in Coors Field isn’t really three home runs, but it’s all the same in the scorebook.
9/8/2015: Cespedes clears bases to engineer big comeback against Nationals
The Labor Day series with the Nationals was the biggest regular season series the Mets had played in years. The Mets were down 7-1 going into the top of the 7th inning, and their win probability had fallen to 2%. Cespedes hit a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double off Drew Storen to get the Mets within a run, and the Mets would go on to win the critical game, 8-7.
9/09/2015: Cespedes hits go-ahead two-run homer off Drew Storen to put nail in Nationals
The September 9 game against the Nationals was one of the signature wins of the 2015 regular season. Stephen Strasburg shoved for 7-plus innings with an unhittable curveball before tiring and giving up a pinch-hit home run to Kelly Johnson in the 8th, which tied the game at 2-2. Cespedes came up later that inning and hit a go-ahead two-run home run to take the lead. The win completed a sweep of the Nationals during that ultra important Labor Day series and essentially ended the 2015 NL East division race.
10/10/2015: Cespedes homers off Zack Greinke in Game 2 of NLDS in Dodger Stadium
In 2015, Zack Greinke had a 1.66 ERA, .507 opponents’ OPS, and 1.46 ERA in Dodger Stadium. Cespedes served a 2-2, high fastball over the right field wall to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the second inning of Game 2 of the NLDS.
10/12/2015: Cespedes hits monster dinger off Alex Wood, then flips bat
Game 3 of the NLDS was the first postseason game in Citi Field’s history, and it was the Mets’ first home playoff game in nearly a decade. The crowd was as loud as it has ever been at Citi Field, partially because of the playoff stakes and partially because the bloodthirsty crowd wanted revenge on Chase Utley for breaking Ruben Tejada’s leg. With the Mets up 7-3 in the fourth inning, Cespedes hit a massive, gigantic home run to left field to give the Mets a 10-3 lead. He then flipped his bat in epic fashion. Also included in the video: a loud “WE WANT UTLEY” chant from the Mets fans shortly after the home run. In my opinion, this is the hottest and greatest crowd Citi Field has ever had.
Cespedes’s monster home run also sparked some great reactions. Here is Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld reacting:
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7416637/cespedes.jpg)
And here is New York legend Mike Francesa’s reaction from behind home plate:
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7416639/cespedes_002.jpg)
Pedro Martinez also had a memorable reaction on TBS and Twitter:
Cespedes hit a longgggg ding dong dong Jhonson !!!!
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) October 13, 2015
10/20/2015: Cespedes comes up huge in Game 3 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field
Cespedes was a driving force in the winning Game 3 of the NLCS. He started things off with a two-out, first inning double into the gap that scored David Wright from first base, who was stealing on the pitch. He finished the game 3 for 5 and contributed heavily on the base paths. Cespedes stole third with one out to put himself in scoring position with the game tied 2-2 in the 6th, and then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Cespedes’s speed when he runs full throttle is almost as majestic as his monster dingers.
The steal of third:
Scoring the go-ahead run:
His three hits:
4/26/2016: Cespedes comes off the bench cold and injured to hit a game-tying, pinch-hit three-run home run
Cespedes didn’t start the game because he was nursing a bruised leg that stemmed from jumping into the stands to catch a foul ball earlier in the season. He came into the game without warming up, took one swing and hit a three-run home run to tie the game in the 7th inning.
Andy Martino summed this one up best:
“Terry Collins sent Dick Scott to ask Cespedes if he wanted to stretch before pinch hitting. Cespedes was in shorts, watching TV. “Nope”, he said, before taking a few swings in the cage. Then they couldn’t find him, so Collins sent Duda on deck while the ump yelled at Collins. Finally, Cespedes ambles out onto the field, stiff and injured, takes one swing, homers, laughs, and leaves.”
6/30/2016: Cespedes hits gigantic home run into the third deck in left field
Cespedes hit some incredible home runs at Citi Field in the home run derby in 2013, but this home run he hit off John Lackey into the third deck at Citi Field might have been the most impressive of them all.
8/29/2016: Cespedes hits a walk-off home run against Marlins
After the game, Cespedes said “I don’t have words to describe this moment.”