Return of Cuban stars over New York

As we approach Opening Day 2017, the postseason hopes of New York’s two major league teams are connected to the return of two Cubans: The Mets’ slugging outfielder Yoenis Céspedes and Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman.

It wouldn’t be the first time Cuban stars figured heavily into New York’s championship hopes. In fact, there was a time when this was more literal than figurative.

In the decades before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color line, most Cubans who played professionally in the United States performed in the Negro Leagues. Through 1950, the best hopes for a Negro League pennant in New York City were the Cuban Stars and, later on, the New York Cubans, both run by Alejandro “Álex” Pompez, a pioneering Cuban-American executive in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Based in Harlem, the Cuban Stars were a separate entity from a team by the same name in Chicago. The Cuban Stars “East,” as they were commonly called in the white press, introduced another future Hall of Famer Martín Dihigo and a young Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso to U.S. fans while boasting both the first Dominican player, Pedro Sán, and the first Puerto Rican player, Emilio “Millito” Navarro, to play in the Negro Leagues, well before their major league compatriots appeared.

The Cuban Stars folded in 1933 and two years later Pompez launched the New York Cubans, with Dihigo has a player-manager. Always fun to watch, but with mixed success, the Cubans took until 1947 to claim their only Negro League World Series title. It was scarcely noticed. Ironically, their success occurred in the shadow of Jackie Robinson’s major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the end of the color barrier.

Now, with another season on the horizon, Cuban stars again grace New York. Céspedes and Chapman, both of whom defected to get to the majors, made the Big Apple their permanent home this past winter after rejecting other offers and creating a splash as big free-agent signings.

Home Run Derby King of Queens

Céspedes, 31, born in Campechuela, agreed to a record-busting four-year, $110 million contract with the Mets after having opted out of his previous contract.

A lot of money, certainly — but for good reason. Mets fans became enthralled with Céspedes’ kinetic style of play following his July 2015 acquisition from the Detroit Tigers. The two-time Home Run Derby champion proved a pivotal addition that season, hitting 17 home runs in 57 games and demonstrating his ability to elevate an entire team.

The Mets’ memorable and unexpected October run in 2015 revealed the high and lows of attaching pennant hopes to a free-swinging slugger. Céspedes blasted two home runs while striking out eight times in the Divisional Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, then lanced four hits in a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS as the Mets made their way to the Fall Classic.

The Royals, however, tamed Céspedes in the World Series. He went 3-for-20 with no extra-base hits as the Mets lost the World Series, four games to one.

In 2016, injuries limited Céspedes to 132 games, though he made it to the All-Star Game. The Mets claimed a wild-card berth, dropping a one-game playoff to the San Francisco Giants and falling short of their previous year’s success.

The ensuing offseason raised questions about Céspedes’ status for the upcoming campaign. He opted out of his $75 million Mets contract after one year. Traded three times in the span of 12 months between July 2014 and 2015, Céspedes fought off rumors that he was a negative locker-room presence who turned off team management.

Céspedes’ decision upset some New York fans, who seemed to immediately want him gone. The rumors overlooked a simple baseball reality: the potent slugger was a highly desirable commodity before 2016 partly because he had yet to accumulate four years of service time, after which point he could file for free agency and seek a long-term contract at a high salary.

Lost amid the noise was that Céspedes sought stability after playing for four teams in his first four seasons. And it turns out, more than anything, he preferred to be a Cuban star shining over New York. He agreed to a new contract that set the record for the highest annual average ever for an outfielder, $27.5 million, and tied Álex Rodríguez for the highest average salary granted to a free-agent position player. Only the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera, at $31 million, is guaranteed more per year.

“I didn’t like that feeling of just when I was starting to get comfortable with a team that I could be gone,” Céspedes said in Spanish back in November when the Mets officially announced the agreement. “So, that was a very important part for me.”

Enter Chapman

Chapman, 29, born in Holguín, signed for relievers a record five-year, $86 million contract with the Yankees in December, following a midseason trade that sent him from the Bronx to the Chicago Cubs and a World Series title.

The Yankees have been trying to permanently fill the closer spot since the 2013 retirement of Mariano Rivera. David Robertson, Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, even Chapman, a lefty who has hit 105 mph on the radar gun, have all had their shots.

Chapman barely got a half-season tryout in 2016 after serving a 30-game penalty for violating the MLB’s domestic violence policy while he still pitched for the Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees, who acquired Chapman after convincing themselves that the player’s remorse was genuine, sent him to Chicago in a trade deadline deal for four players in an attempt to rebuild once they realized they weren’t making the playoffs.

Assuming the Cubs’ closer role, Chapman earned 16 saves with a 1.01 ERA, averaging 15.5 K/9 during the remainder of the regular season. Manager Joe Maddon relied on Chapman even more in the postseason, using him in 13 of the Cubs’ 17 playoff games. Chapman earned four saves and two wins while helping the Cubs to their first title since 1908.

Besides 182 saves and a 2.08 ERA in seven seasons, Chapman boasts an amazing 15.2 K/9.

He’s back in the Bronx because the Yankees acknowledged they needed someone who created buzz in the stands. And Chapman never felt fully appreciated by the Cubs during the team’s historic run.

“I feel more comfortable with the guys here, I can talk to them,” Chapman told The Record’s Pete Caldera during spring training. “My English is not the best, but I do the best I can to communicate. That was what helped me most during my time here with the Yankees.”

Yankees brass hope Chapman’s comfort in the Bronx will translate to discomfort for opposing batters, and thus end the search for Rivera’s replacement.

Granted, he and Céspedes will need a couple more World Series rings to fully restore New York’s championship swagger. But their return certainly heralds a new era in the Big Apple.

Pompez would approve. Cuban stars have once again aligned over New York.

Featured Image: Joe Robbins / Josh Lefkowitz / Getty Images Sport