Yoenis Céspedes is a Cuban baseball player born in Campechuela, Granma, Cuba, on October 18, 1985. He is a professional baseball player for the New York Mets in Major League Baseball in the United States. His position is left fielder.
A graduate of a special sports school in Bayamo, he participated in the youth national series. Due to his outstanding performance starting in 2002, he became a member of the Cuban Youth team. His mother, Estela Milanés, competed in the 2000 Olympic Games for Cuba in softball (pitcher).
He made his debut in the National Series with the Granma team during the 2003-2004 series, where he had a batting average of .302, an OBP of .382, and a slugging percentage of .503. With Team Cuba, he won gold at the 2010 Universiade Baseball Championship and the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, and silver at the 2009 Baseball World Cup.
Céspedes declared himself a free agent in 2012 and was signed in February of that same year by the Oakland Athletics for four years and 36 million dollars.
At the end of July 2014, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Jon Lester. In mid-December 2014, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Rick Porcello
In 2014, he participated for the first time in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game of the American League (MLB)
He played his first game of the 2015 season with the Tigers, and on July 31, 2015, he joined the New York Mets, where he still remains and is their star outfielder.
In February 2017, the American newspaper New York Post published an extensive report from his farm "La Potencia," located in Vero Beach, Florida, showcasing the passion the Cuban feels for the farmland and farm animals, which is a clear reminiscence of his childhood and occupation in Cuba.
In October 2018, he returned to Cuba with his mother Estela Milanés for the first time since his departure in 2011 to visit family and friends on the island.
In 2019, a wild boar that attacked him after falling into a trap on his ranch caused an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2019 season. After multiple surgeries, he managed to recover and returned for the 2020 season. In his first game in July against the Atlanta Braves, he hit a home run.
In August 2020, Céspedes made headlines again when he was unable to continue the Major League season with the New York Mets due to coronavirus-related reasons, as reported by the team's general manager, Brodie Van Wagenen
Céspedes had been the designated hitter for the Mets this season.
