Baltimore Orioles: The Yoenis Cespedes Attitude Concern

Aug 5, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes before a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports /

With it now being reported that the Baltimore Orioles have offered a contract proposal to Yoenis Cespedes, is there reason for concern about alleged attitudinal and personality difficulties?

From a purely baseball perspective, there is so much to like about the offensive production of Cespedes. And beyond that, he is also a Gold Glove winner.

What is there to not like about 35 home runs, 105 RBIs on a .291 average? And even though he is not a left-handed batting right fielder (the greatest need most often stated), as we noted here on The Baltimore Wire in our recent feature on Cespedes, he actually hits RHPs better than lefties. This will work to address the needs.

As well, all but the most ardent, holdout Chris Davis advocates are pleased to see that the O’s are not just sitting around and waiting for something to happen. There was every appearance that this was indeed the current disposition of ownership and/or management.

But what about this occasionally-stated matter that Cespedes is some measure of an attitude problem? After all, even though he has played a total of just 575 games over his four years in MLB, those games have been spread over four teams. Those of you who are in a position to hire employees: what do you think when you see a resume where an applicant has worked for four different companies over four years?

A little research into this turns up some information that might be of slight concern. There seems to be some common talk about a casual way of going after fly balls, almost depending upon his great arm to make up for an inferior effort. Apparently he is very fond of tobacco, looking a bit like a throwback to some players of decades ago. And then there is an overall sort of a “don’t-give-a-crap” attitude.

In a NY Times article, Cespedes’ attitude was described as “quirky but infectious.”

His experience in Boston was especially difficult interpersonally. Cespedes battled with several coaches and simply did not like being there at all. An article said, quoting a Red Sox insider, “The coaches all hate him.” The same piece went on to say …

"How long do you think that will work out on a team that has thrived on camaraderie when their engines are firing on all cylinders?"