PORT ST. LUCIE — Though no Mets historian ever will confuse September 2016 for October 1986 or even August 2015, the month will be recalled quite fondly, right? Manager Terry Collins’ injury-riddled group capitalized on a favorable schedule and rode a 17-10 record (including two October regular-season games) into a second consecutive playoff appearance, albeit an appearance that lasted just one game.
You remember Asdrubal Cabrera’s walk-off home run (and epic bat flip) against the Phillies and T.J. Rivera’s game-winning blast in Washington and Bartolo Colon’s Labor Day mastery of the Reds and maybe a few more. Behind the scenes, the Mets retain their own favorite moments.
Like last Sept. 21 at Citi Field, when Cabrera and Jose Reyes let Yoenis Cespedes know how he hurt the team in a loss to the Braves by not running out a long hit and settling for a double.
Or last Sept. 11 at Turner Field, when Cabrera and Reyes aided Collins in soothing Cespedes when he fumed over not getting lifted early during a Mets blowout of the Braves.
If you’ve watched Cespedes play these past two seasons, you know he possesses some diva-like qualities that correlate to his love of the spotlight and the big moment. The Mets re-signed Cespedes to a four-year, $110 million contract because they correctly determined the outfielder’s benefits far outweigh his costs.
The Mets’ comfort with the contract stemmed from their familiarity with him, and their knowledge they held a strong support system in place. In Reyes and Cabrera, the Mets employ a left side of the infield (or, if David Wright proves healthy, a super-utility guy and a shortstop) that doubles as a Cespedes Advisory Council.
“Some might not believe it, but that’s a very important part,” Cespedes said Saturday through an interpreter at Tradition Field. “Just having those teammates that speak your own language, when you’re feeling a little bit down, they can come up and lift you up and put you in a good mood again.”
Collins echoed that sentiment.
“If there are two guys who keep [Cespedes] focused a little bit, it’s those two guys,” Collins said of Reyes and Cabrera. “Because they are both no-nonsense players and people. They play the game the right way. They get ready to play. They want to play every day. And they’re in Yoenis’ ear all the time.
“Now that he’s in the state where he’s at right now, those guys are going to have a lot of fun with him because he’s bound and determined.”
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On Sunday, the Mets will hold their first official full-squad workout, the day Collins calls his most important as a manager each season. With virtually the same roster with which the team closed last season — Colon is the lone impactful departure, and the 40-man roster features no offseason imports from other organizations — Collins will remind and salute his players for what they accomplished last fall.
That clubhouse grew stronger from the 2015 World Series appearance with the additions of experienced guys like Cabrera and Neil Walker and, last July, Reyes’ return. Cabrera and Reyes proved particularly helpful with Cespedes.
“It’s always good when you have some Latin people around you because Cespy, he’s an unbelievable guy, but he doesn’t talk a lot,” Reyes said. “With us, he’s fine. We play around a lot. He feels comfortable being around us.”
And Reyes feels comfortable being honest with Cespedes.
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“I let him know when he’s wrong and when he’s right,” Reyes said. “I’m not afraid to tell him that. Maybe some other people are. I don’t want to say that he listens to me, but he pays attention to what I say and what Cabby says, too.”
“I think it’s the way they go out on that field and they perform,” Cespedes said, when asked why he holds Reyes and Cabrera in such high regard. “The way they play that game, that’s where they earn that respect.”
Let’s not be naïve and predict the Mets and Cespedes won’t hit some turbulence along the way, but they proved last year they have the personnel to endure such turbulence. If they can combine such character with improved health, then perhaps September 2016 can be propelled into a higher historical echelon — like the springboard to a championship.
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