In late October of 2015, The Wall Street Journal's Brian Costa wrote a story about the New York Mets' hitter of monster golf drives and home runs.
When Cespedes shows up for a night game, hitting coach Kevin Long asks if he played golf that day. Long wants him to play golf because it tires him out a little. Instead of having so much energy, he's less amped up and plays better.
In the October 30 article, Costa reminded us that Cespedes had only been with the Mets for three months. But he was a fan favorite, a marquee attraction and a catalyst for the team's turnaround.
He spent the first 25 years of his life in Cuba and he had no exposure to golf until he tried it last year at a charity event in Florida, Now Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen says he hits 400-yard drives and 250-yard 5-irons.
His morning golf round drew attention when Cespedes played at Medinah Country Club before Game 4 of the National League Championship Series in Chicago.
With pitcher Jon Niese, he played top courses in New York City, including Trump Golf Links and Liberty National. He's a self-taught player. On the road, he plays whatever course is near the city where the team is playing.
"For me, golf is sort of like when I go fishing," Cepedes says through an interpreter. "I just forget any problem I have, anything that's troubling me."
It's hard to say that his playing golf in the morning and baseball in the evening is a bad idea. In games with the Mets and the Detroit Tigers, Cespedes hit 35 home runs, drove in105 runs and posted a .502 slugging percentage.
Experts think the extent to which golf helped him at the plate is debatable. But the skills he honed playing baseball have undoubtedly made him more of a natural on the golf course.
Niece says for his second shot on the par-5 18th hole at Ferry Point, he was 286 yards from the pin. He said "Watch this," and hit a 3-iron to within a few feet of the hole.
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