If you missed the Yasiel Puig versus Madison Bumgarner spat, it basically went like this…
Then…
Followed by…
Another bat flip scenario brought to you by none other than the Cuban Missile himself, Yasiel Puig. Then some words were spoken after Puig made his trot around the diamond after hitting a home run off of the Giants’ lefty.
According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, this is what Bumgarner had to say post-game:
I was just congratulating him. That was a really good swing. I don’t know why everybody got so mad. That was pretty impressive. I don’t know what happened. Again, I don’t know why everybody got so mad. It escalated quickly for no reason. I think he said, ‘Thank you,’ I’m not sure if he did. I don’t speak Spanish very well.
Even Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly, who has put Puig in his place before, said there was nothing for anyone to get upset about, defending Yasiel. Defending him so much, he was ejected that game.
What goes on in the outfielder’s mind?
Between reckless driving, showing up late, and an “attitude” most fans think they have Yasiel Puig figured out. Some people are annoyed by it, Dodger fans just see his numbers.
Last season I went on a local radio show, and basically said you won’t have to worry about having a Dodger Dog in the postseason because Los Angeles won’t need to worry about postseason play. I ate my words, and people ate Dodger Dogs thanks to the 23-year-old phenom.
According to rotoworld.com, he concluded 2013 with a .319 batting average, 19 home runs, and 122 hits. All in 104 games.
This season (remember we are only in May) Puig is hitting .318 with six “pimped-out” home runs and 41 hits.
The cocky attitude could possibly be toned down, but at this point, that’s Yasiel Puig. I’m not condoning it, but I’m not necessarily supporting it either. All I know is at the end of the day, there is no place in stats for “number of bat-flips.” And if there was, a batting average would not be effected.
Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA Today