Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has, without question, one of the strongest and most accurate throwing arms in baseball. He’s made a number of memorable throws since debuting in the majors in 2012, but he hadn’t shown it off with his new club until Saturday night against the Pirates.
In a 3-3 game with out one out in the ninth, Pirates batter Sean Rodriguez ripped a fly ball into the gap in left-center at Citi Field. Cespedes overran it, which prompted Rodriguez to attempt to wheel around second base towards third base. That was a mistake. Cespedes fired a perfect one-hop strike to Juan Uribe at third base to nail Rodriguez for his first outfield assist as a Met. If Rodriguez had been safe, the Pirates would have had the go-ahead run only 90 feet away with one out.
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Cespedes has 10 outfield assists on the year, counting his time with the Tigers. His career-high is 16 set last season between the Athletics and Red Sox.