NY Mets: Yoenis Cespedes bought me an engagement ring

Yoenis Cespedes did a lot for the 2015 New York Mets. Almost immediately after arriving, the culture around the team was vastly different. The team suddenly felt like they could make it to the playoffs. They did and Cespedes was a big reason for it.

The big guy did more than help out his baseball team. Back in 2015, his contributions on the field also bought me an engagement ring.

Yoenis Cespedes’ hot two months with the Mets made me drop to a knee and propose

Way back in 2015, my wife and I were living on opposite sides of the world. The idea of marriage was something we had talked about, but it seemed like such a big step in life. Getting married was for adults. As a millennial, I naturally avoid as many adult things as possible.

Somewhere along the line in our relationship, I decided I was ready to propose. I bought a ring around the end of the baseball season, but not before getting a couple of hundred bucks deposited into my bank account courtesy of Cespedes.

I’ve never met Cespedes nor do I think I’ll ever find myself on a Florida farm disguised as a boar where I would have the opportunity. This doesn’t mean Cespedes has yet to impact my life positively. His Mets performance helped lead my fantasy baseball team to victory and award me with the first and only championship of my career.

Like real life, Cespedes didn’t start the season on the Toronto Blue Jay Lenos—my team name that year. He was traded to my squad by one of the biggest and most obnoxious Mets fans my dad knew from work. I wish I could remember who I gave up to acquire Cespedes. It wasn’t Luis Cessa and Michael Fulmer.

At the time of the trade, Cespedes was still a member of the Detroit Tigers. Needing some power on my fantasy team, I pulled the trigger and brought him in to provide my squad with much-needed pop. A few weeks later, he was going on a memorable tear much closer to home in New York.

The highlight came on August 21 when I watched my fantasy team compile a whole lot of points. What could it be?

This was the night Cespedes hit three home runs against the Colorado Rockies. If you play fantasy baseball, you’ll know late August is around the time when most leagues begin to wrap up the season before the playoffs. Although I had already won a playoff berth, it helped with seeding.

Mets fans know how well Cespedes continued to play throughout the regular season. Each week, he was right there as one of my outfielders contributing to wins. It may have taken a bad start or two from Chris Sale and Madison Bumgarner (owned by my opponents) as well as a few huge games from Adrian Beltre on my behalf in order to win it all.

However, without Cespedes finding his great swing for the Mets in late 2015, I may have dipped a little deeper into my savings.

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They say you should spend about three-month’s salary on an engagement ring. Instead, I paid with six-month’s worth of fantasy baseball winnings.