On the heels of LeBron James calling himself “The best player in the world”, I got my first real look at Dodgers superstar outfielder Yasiel Puig last night, and to say the least, I am not very impressed. Now granted, he did not have his best game against the Texas Rangers last night, but that really was not what struck me the most, it was his attitude and his sense of entitlement, kind of like James, who by the way probably is the best player in the world right now.
Puig was 0-4 with 3 strike outs, and the at bat where he did not strike out he stood at the plate and watched a long fly ball that was caught by Shin-Soo Choo in a style very reminiscent of Manny Ramirez. After his last at bat, Puig broke his bat over his knee (which is pretty impressive but childish, by the way) and went back to the dugout where he proceeded to continue his tantrum by breaking some light bulbs in the tunnel.
This kind of behavior should not be tolerated in the clubhouse, but most players and managers seem to just shrug it off as “Yasiel being Yasiel”. After the game, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had this to say about the bat break.
“Probably rather see a bat flip than a bat break…”I think we’re fine, right now our lineup is not really a problem. We’ve got spots. I think we’re capable.” L.A. Times
Now we have seen similar outbreaks from Texas Rangers players as well, but from everything I hear Puig is not the kindest or most friendly player, and on top of that he seems to suffer from a “me first” mentality. I hope I’m wrong, because the man has immense talent, but he just looked childish to me last night. For what it is worth, that is my opinion on my first full game of watching Yasiel Puig. If I am wrong, please let me know! First impressions are big, and he did not make a good one on this blogger.
