La Potencia (the power) also know as Yoenis Céspedes is a Cuban MLB outfielder who won back-to-back MLB Home Run Derbies in 2013 and 2014. He is one of the baseballers with a young professional career but has in no small way distinguished himself among his peers and some others that were before him. Here you will learn more about the Cuban sportsman.
Yoenis Céspedes’ Bio
Yoenis was born on the 18th of October 1985 in Campechuela, in Granma Province of Cuba as a son to Estela Mailanes (mother) and Cresencio Céspedes (father). He has a sibling, a brother named Yelqui Céspedes. His parents were both sportspeople as his mother played softball as a pitcher and made an appearance in the Summer Olympics of 2000 representing Cuba, his father, on the other hand, was a former Cuban League catcher. He, however, separated from his tot when he was just about a year old.
Yoenis Céspedes began having a taste of what baseball was like when at the age of 10 his mother sent him to a state-run school where he had ample time to play the game and learn from other players as well. He made good of his time here growing in the team and he soon played in the Cuban Winter League where he was seen active for 8 seasons and was also part of the World Baseball Classic in 2009 before leaving his home country.
There are conflicting reports about who he left Cuba with. Some online reports have it that Yoenis Céspedes and 6 other people defected from Cuba in 2011 on a 23 hours boat ride to the Dominican Republic while another report has it that he made the defection with his family. Nevertheless, in Dominica, he met baseball agent Edgar Mercedes who helped him get residency in Santiago. This allowed him to bypass the MLB Draft and he became a free agent.
Later that same year, he moved to the U.S.A still in pursuit of playing professionally the only game he has played from childhood. After getting his US residency in 2012, he turned down offers from numerous US baseball teams and signed a 4-year contract worth $36 million with the Oakland Athletics.
With his new team, the stage was set for Yoenis Céspedes to show the fans of baseball how good he was and he didn’t fail. He had an impressive 2012, 13, and partly 2014 season playing for the Oaklands. However, for a wrist, knee, and hamstring injury he wasn’t getting steady game time in the latter part of 2014 and was soon traded to the Boston Red Sox in barter for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes. Again with the Red Sox, he wasn’t to be kept for long as he got traded to the Detroit Tigers along with Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier so Boston Red Sox can take ownership of Rick Porcello. His stay with the Tigers was only interim as he was traded this time to the New York Mets in 2015.
Contract and Salary
Following Yoenis Céspedes’ impressive performance in his first year with the Mets, he was offered a 3-year contract worth $75 million which he, however, opted out of on November 3rd, 2016 but for his value to the team, the New York Mets offered him an improved 4-year contract worth $110 million with a no-trade clause which he agreed to on November 30, 2016. Yoenis earns an annual salary of $22.5 million.
Career Stats
| GP | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | HR | Avg |
| 825 | 3,156 | 470 | 863 | 523 | 237 | 727 | 162 | 0.273 |
Yoenis Céspedes is having a good career and for all his efforts so far he has the following awards and championships to show for it: 3× Cuba national team gold medallist (2007 Pan Am Games, 2010 International Cup, 2010 World University), 2× Home Run Derby champion (2013, 2014) and National League champion (2015). He won the All-World Baseball Classic Team (2009) award, American League Rookie of the Month (Sept. 2012), 2× MLB All-Star (2014, 2016), 2× MLB Player of the Week (Jul. 15, 2012; Sep. 13, 2015), Rawlings Gold Glove Award at the left field (2015), Silver Slugger Award at outfield (2016).
Houses, Cars, and Net Worth
The star baseballer has a net worth of $45 million according to Celebrity Networth and there is no question whether or not he is living a lavish lifestyle. His comfy lifestyle is seen in the rides he cruises with just as his home is befitting as well.
Yoenis Cespedes lives in Manhattan during the game season while he retires to his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida in the off-season. He has a collection of exotic sports cars which include an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, 2 custom Polaris Slingshots, a 2016 Ford F-250, a custom Lamborghini Aventador and a custom Jeep Wrangler.
Family, Son, and Girlfriend
Yoenis Céspedes has a son, Yoenis Jr. in Cuba who he has not been able to see ever since he defected from his home country. He only speaks with him on phone and has tried repeatedly to bring him over to the US without any success. Reports have it that he met the son’s mother when he was 14 and they were acquainted with each other for the next 9 years before he left his birth country.
The star baseball player has got for himself a girlfriend known as Sandra Quesada who much is not known about except that she is Latino and celebrates her birthday on July 22nd. Without a doubt, her beauty is a stunner with eyes so winsome that any man would fall for.
As mentioned earlier, Yoenis has a brother known as Yelqui Céspedes and it is believed he resides in Cuba.
