Yoenis Cespedes May Turn To Golf To Bust Out of Slump

The New York Mets are 14-5 to start the season, a remarkable accomplishment considering how little production they have gotten out of their best offensive player. Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes leads the team in both home runs (4) and RBI’s (18), but is batting just .208 with 34 strikeouts in 77 at bats. A lot of Cespedes’ hits have been timely ones, but there is no question that the star outfielder is battling through a deep slump. Cespedes believes he has a solution to the problem, but it may not be one that the Mets are fans of.

That idea is a return to the golf course, ESPN.com reports. Cespedes, who promised the Mets he would give up golfing during the season, said in his post game interviews yesterday that golf has helped him emerge from deep slumps earlier in his career. After the Mets expressed concern that Cespedes’ golf game was impacting his baseball performance, he promised the team that he would cut back on his course time. Cespedes said that he has filled that vacant time by watching video to prepare for games, but since the results haven’t been too good he may consider returning to golf to help relax. The outfielder said that his previous routine would involve golfing in the morning before heading to work in the afternoon. Cespedes also mentioned that his shoulder was flying open now, a problem that didn’t occur as frequently when he was golfing, since he needs to keep his hands in for his golf swing.

The Mets may not like the fact that Cespedes is an avid golfer, but if his slump continues it may not be a bad idea to let him hit the links again. While a round of golf almost every day isn’t ideal for most players, who need the recovery time before they get to the ballpark, Cespedes has made it work for him in the past. Cespedes has also revamped his training regimen this winter to focus more on flexibility in order to stay healthy, so as long as he keeps that up there is no reason that he shouldn’t be able to golf and produce on the field. The Mets need a productive Cespedes if they want to reach the postseason this year, and if he thinks that time on the golf course will help him fix his swing they should book Cespedes some tee times.