(Neil Miller/Sportsday Wire)
It was going to get done because Yoenis Cespedes continually said his desire was to remain in New York and that team he wanted was the New York Mets. So a few weeks of drama and speculation came to fruition Friday night when the three-year deal was finalized which includes $75 million and an opt out clause after one.
And there was never any doubt, as yours truly reported a week or so ago. However the experts who are the so called insiders were calling it differently, and social media exploded with doubts and criticism at yours truly, and all along it has been about old school journalism and accurate reporting.
On that note and without taking credit for a deal that makes Cespedes, the Mets and their fans content, here is a brief chronology that led to the assumption and eventual outcome that delivered Yoenis Cespedes back to the New York Mets. And re-signing the Cuban outfielder is that important cog in the lineup, a catalyst that gives the Mets a better opportunity of returning to the World Series in October.
To put this in perspective, and to clarify that this writer is not looking for accolades because the sources were accurate, old school journalism beat out the new school. In other words this new age of social media relies on sources, many pure speculation, whereas the old school theory relies on those sources that are legitimate and accurate.
And those three sources, names withheld of course, led to the beginning of this escapade of reporting old school against the new school. Yoenis Cespedes all along, and from all accounts, informed his representatives that his desire was a decent and reasonable deal that would keep him in New York.
You remember those words from Cespedes, after Game 5 of the World Series in the early hours of November 2, an hour or so after the Mets came up short against the Kansas City Royals. Cespedes had a taste of New York, fell in love with Mets’ fans as much as they fell in love with him.
He said in the clubhouse, in front of the few remaining media, “I want to stay here with the Mets,” And those words were enough to explain, on what eventually transpired over the past few months, as report after report followed about a lucrative seven-year deal in the works that the Mets were never in it.
But with teams such as the Nationals, Tigers, Angles, and the Orioles looking as the favorites to acquire Yoenis Cespedes, truth of the matter is he informed that team of reps to continue dialogue and make a deal with the New York Mets.
So the Mets said there was still interest. And as they always do, quietly conducting business with free agent matters, GM Sandy Alderson and his team kept that dialogue going and the door was open for Cespedes.
But all the media could do was speculate and rely on accurate sources. And that is where this got interesting, and from a perspective of old school journalism as is here.
One source said Cespedes was seeking a one or two year deal with the Mets. And as old school reporting works, another reliable source was contacted and confirmed what was said from source one. Ahead 0-2 in the count, and as the mentors said, time to go for the knockout and third strike.
Source number three was accurate and confirmed, in similar terms, that Yoenis Cespedes was nearing a deal with the New York Mets. Neither source was with the Mets hierarchy that was involved in the process and the reporting was accurate and not speculation via social media.
So as the speculation continued, and the attacks to yours truly unfolded, the reports said the Nationals had that $100 million dollar offer on the table for Yoenis Cespedes. The deal would be official by Friday, and Cespedes would be on the Nationals side with Daniel Murphy, his teammate and another cog that helped propel the Mets to a World Series for the first time since the 2000 season.
But as this unfolded about the Nationals, and as the storylines of the hot stove offseason of Yoenis Cespedes continued, a high ranking official with the Nationals was able to confirm that the Mets were much closer to getting their man. The Baltimore Orioles were apparently never in the sweepstakes, neither were the Nationals.
And because Yoenis Cespedes was persistent, and because Mets’ GM Sandy Alderson and ownership were committed to this player, in a matter of hours Yoenis Cespedes and his management team made the deal. Mets ownership made their statement that they are here to win.
And they have that nucleus with perhaps the best four starting pitchers in the game. Oh, and accurate sources are reliable proving once agains that old school sports journalism is here to stay.
Comment Rich Mancuso: [email protected] Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso