Yoenis Cespedes was coming off an all-star season with the Mets in 2016 when he re-signed with the team on for four more years in a $110 million deal on this day in béisbol, November 29. An international free agent from Cuba, Cespedes was with his fourth team in four years when he was traded to New York in the middle of the 2015 season from the Detroit Tigers. The flashy, outgoing outfielder who loved to show off his throwing arm — and fleet of fancy cars — quickly became a fan favorite, helping New York win the NL pennant

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu spent nine productive seasons in Chicago before signing a three-year, nearly $60 million contract with the Astros on this day in béisbol, November 28, 2022. Abreu, then 35, was one of the first international free agents from Cuba who flooded MLB, especially the White Sox, in recent years, joining fellow Cuban imports Yasmani Grandal, Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. Abreu was a 27-year-old Rookie of the Year in 2014 and was named the American League MVP in the strike-shortened 2020 season, with an MLB-best 60 RBI in 60 games played with 19 homers

Jose Canseco wasn’t yet an official “Bash Brother” — or an MLB pariah for publicly outing a large number of players of taking performance enhancing drugs. On this day in béisbol, November 25, 1986 the controversial Oakland A’s outfielder made news for his actions on the field by winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. Canseco, 22, swatted 33 home runs and drove in 117 runs, making A’s fans salivate at the thought of pairing him with slugger Mark McGwire, the hulking minor league first baseman expected to make the big club in 1987. Canseco and McGwire — who

Slugger Carlos Lee became the highest paid player in Astros history when he signed a six-year, $100 million deal on this day in béisbol, November 24, 2006. Lee, an outfielder-first baseman, spent his first five years with the White Sox, where he averaged more than 25 home runs a year. The Panama native remained a consistent middle-of-the-order force over his five-and-a-half seasons with Houston, averaging 25 homers and 100 RBI. He retired after spending the 2012 season with the Miami Marlins with 358 career dingers and 1,363 RBI. Also on this day: Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols won the 2009

The Minnesota Twins were coming off a disappointing second-place finish in 1966, a year after winning the American League pennant, when the team turned to another young player with Latin American roots to juice up the lineup. Rod Carew, born in Panama and raised in upper Manhattan since he was a teen, won Rookie of the Year honors on this day in béisbol, November 22, 1967. The second baseman had a .292 average after joining such young Twins stars as hit machine Tony Oliva and 1965 AL MVP Zoilo Versalles, both from Cuba, plus speedy Venezuelan outfielder Cesar Tovar. Carew

Mike Lowell turned a solid season capped by a World Series MVP award into a $37.5 million three-year contract with the Red Sox on this day in béisbol, November 20, 2007. The Gold Glove third baseman turned down several better offers to remain in Boston, where he hit 21 homers, drove in 120 runs and batted a career-high .324 for the Sox, helping lead the team to its second championship in two years with a 4-0 sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Lowell was named MVP of the Series after hitting .400. Lowell, who was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban

Sammy Sosa may have lost the single-season home run record race to Mark McGwire in 1998, but on this day in béisbol, November 19, the Chicago Cubs slugger beat the Cardinals first baseman for National League MVP. Sosa slammed 66 homers to McGwire’s MLB-best 70 in a thrilling competition that captivated the nation and was widely credited for bringing disgruntled fans back to the game after the strike-shortened 1994 season that canceled the World Series for the first time ever. Both players shattered Yankees outfielder Roger Maris’s record of 61 homers in 1961. But Sosa — who hit more than

Blue Jays slugger George Bell was named the American League MVP on this day in béisbol, November 17, 1987 after what turned out to be his peak season in Toronto. The 27-year-old left fielder swatted 47 home runs with a .308 average, and led the AL in RBI (134) and totals bases (389) though the second-place Jays failed to win the AL East despite 96 wins and a power-packed lineup that included outfielders Lloyd Moseby, Jesse Barfield, and 23-year-old DH/first basemen Fred McGriff and Cecil Fielder. Bell was one of a handful of Dominican Republic-born young stars who were among