YOENIS’ HOT WHEELS:
All that matters is driving Mets back to October
PORT ST. LUCIE — The idea that this spring was somehow going to be all business for Yoenis Cespedes was quickly shattered by the sound of him revving the engine of a new three-wheeled sports vehicle in the players parking lot Monday afternoon. After weeks of commuting to work in normal, at least normal-for-him, pickup trucks and SUVs, the Mets slugger who had a daily car show last spring, apparently opened the 2017 car season. He hopped into his Polaris Slingshot with white with black and blue trim, backed it out of his parking spot, revved the engines and then drove out of the complex Monday afternoon with photographers trailing him.
His teammates, manager and coaches seem immune to the spectacle by now.
“I don’t care what he drives as long as it gets him here,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “The only thing that matters is what he does on the field, starting Saturday at 1:10 p.m. “It doesn’t matter to me at all.” If it doesn’t matter to the Mets and if he takes care of business on the field, then why should it matter to anyone else?
The Cespedes 2016 spring training car show may have rubbed some people the wrong way, seeing it as a sideshow and distraction. That and Cespedes’ habit of playing golf during the season made him a target for criticism in 2016.
So, if, as expected Cespedes is going to do it again this spring then it’s on him. With a bigger contract and bigger expectations, the target on his back will be even bigger.
A source said that the slugger and his “car man,” Alex Vega, whose AVORZA brand Cespedes made a household name last spring, have teamed up again for some more fun. They are expected to have at least three new customized cars to debut in the Mets players’ parking lot this spring. That includes at least one more Slingshot, the source said, and a white BMW SUV, that is relatively normal for Cespedes’ tastes.
To be fair, after debuting several severely tricked out cars last season, Cespedes had a good enough season. He hit 31 home runs, his second straight 30-plus homer season, despite playing with a nagging quad
injury all season. The Mets were confident enough in his focus on baseball to give him a four-year, $110 million deal. Cespedes has already seemingly accepted that responsibility that comes with the contract. Over the weekend, he talked about how the “calm,” “tranquility,” and security that came with the deal allowed him to focus on getting in shape this winter. Collins and hitting coach Kevin Long praised him for coming into camp trimmer and more prepared to start the spring. But Collins also warned those expecting Cespedes to be strictly business on and off the field this year that the 31-year old was not going to change his personality. He embraced playing in New York in part because he is a showman. Cespedes likes the spotlight and the attention that goes with that. And Cespedes clearly bristled Saturday when he was asked about his 2016 car show being a distraction and the possibility of toning it down. “I don’t think my focus was ever not on baseball,” Cespedes answered when asked about his flashy entrances and exits from the complex in 2016. “Last year with the cars, that was just something off the field. I think the second I was on that field, my focus was on baseball and it will continue to be.” But after work on Monday, Cespedes turned his mind to other business. The car he drove was a different three-wheeled vehicle from the two Slingshots he drove to the complex last spring. He had a grey-and-red Slingshot with his uniform number, No.52, emblazoned on the hood last year. He also drove a black-and-blue Slingshot with a shamrock on the hood in the spring of 2016. Monday, Collins wasn’t interested in getting a look at the newest ride in Cespedes’ parking spot. Frankly, he said he and the Mets don’t seem to care — as long as Cespedes produces on the field. Collins dismissed the idea that this could become a distraction and made it clear that this is nothing he plans to worry about — unless it affects him on the field. “There’d be distractions if he was late. There’d be distractions if he didn’t get his job done on the field . . . . We have a basketball hoop in our clubhouse in New York, nothing wrong with having a little fun, relaxing a little bit,” Collins said. “If he comes in here tomorrow on a horse that’s fine, as long as after 10 (a.m. once the workouts begin) he’s going to be on the field and get after it.” A horse, frankly, would be a little too 2016. Cespedes can drive all the crazy cars he wants this spring and he can ride a bull into camp this season. As long as he delivers in October, it’s not going to be a distraction.