What's the Puig Deal?

For a player that has had, arguably, the best six week debut in baseball history; Yasiel Puig has caused a massive debate over whether he is worthy of being in an All Star Game and assertions regarding his attitude and the roll of a rookie player.

I love baseball.  It’s the most American of sports (it’s slow and lazy, has no time frame, you can be 100 pounds overweight and still be a great player, talent trumps everything and if you’re the best there is no limit to how much you can make).  It’s the oldest of the four major sports in America and it’s the one that has changed the least during its time.  Other than the recent (and current) steroid debate, the reason why baseball’s record book means so much is because the sport is essentially the same as it was 100 years ago.  If, we can table the steroid debate for just this article and agree that you could have horse testosterone pumping through your veins, being “stronger, faster, bigger” doesn’t help you “hit the ball, throw the ball or catch the ball” which are the three staples of baseball. Mickey Mantle would be one of the best players today and conversely Miguel Cabrera would be a Triple Crown threat 60 years ago.  Do you doubt that if the Dodgers put out Sandy Colfax and Clayton Kershaw as their one/two pitchers, they wouldn’t dominate in any decade?  You couldn’t take football players from the 40’s and put them in the NFL now, they’d get killed.  Would the Minnesota Lakers win even one game against the 2001 or 2011 Los Angeles Lakers in a seven game series?  The games have changed and the players have changed.  In baseball, you still need to hit the ball and no steroid in the world can help you with that.  The “traditions” of baseball are where we run into the debate and issues people have about Yasiel Puig.

The debate this week is, “Should Yasiel Puig be an All Star?”  The reasons for is that he has burst onto the scene like no one who has ever played before.  In just the first few weeks in the majors he’s been electrifying and we could be seeing one of the best players to ever play the game, of course he should be an All Star.  The reasons against is that he’s barely played 40 games in the majors and a player who may just be riding a hot streak shouldn’t be put into the All Star Game.  There’s no evidence that he could be out baseball in two years.  To become an All Star, you need to show that you’re the best of the best and if not for your first year but at least for the entirely of the first half of the season.  Some people would debate that no rookie should be in the All Star game at all but if they are, they should have had to play since opening day.  Puig was brought up late to the majors (mainly because of MLB’s CBA rules and bringing up a rookie after a certain amount of games already played allows the team to have control over the player’s rights for an extra year) and has played about half as many games as all the other participants in the All Star game this year.

As of July 11, 2013 Puig’s number are .392 average / 1.054 OPS / 8 HR / 19 RBI.  The only thing low is the RBI but he’s hitting 2^nd and considering he’s gotten over 50 hits, we’ll excuse his low-ish totals (extrapolate his RBI over a full season, you're still looking at a number over 80).  Double all these numbers for a full half and you’re talking about MVP numbers.  Puig has a cannon for an arm and runs like the wind.  Unfortunately he “runs until he’s tagged out” so sometimes he can frustrate you with his decision making.  Consider that he’s going to be 23 years old this year and that this is his first year of “American” baseball (he’s a defector from Cuba) all his shortcomings can be easily corrected with time and coaching. 

All you need to know as to if he should be an All Star is two things.  One, re-read the first line of the last paragraph.  He’s a monster player.  Maybe it’s only for a season or two but right now he is all anyone can talk about.  Henley Ramirez is hitting .400+ since coming back from injury for the Dodgers and that would be the headline in every newspaper if not for this Puig kid.  The Dodgers were 9 ½ games back in the division and after sweeping the Diamondbacks, they’re now just 1 ½ games back.  He’s the hottest name in the league, on a historic franchise.  He should be carried on the backs of other players to the All Star game.  Secondly, the All Star game is an exhibition game.  It’s to show off the best in baseball and it’s for the fans.  People want to see this guy play.  Since he wasn’t officially on the All Star ballot, people had to write in his name.  Puig received the highest amount of write-in votes in the history of the current All Star voting process.

The two rules that are the most ridiculous rules in baseball are that the All Star game winning team decides which league, NL or AL, will get the home field advantage for the World Series.  The other is that every team gets a player to represent each team.  So, even the dreadful Houston Astros have someone from their team who is an All Star.  This rule alone diminishes the brand “All Star”.  There are at least half a dozen guys playing in the All Star game that are solely there because their team MUST have a representative.  Whether he ends up being a one season wonder or an all time great, he’s on fire now and MLB should trot him out there to entertain the crowd.  Let’s not forget, the whole point of having sports, AND having an All Star Game to begin with, is to entertain the audience.  This is an exhibition game for the fans to see all the best players at the same time.

I’m sure Freddie Freeman is a fine man and he’s got decent stats.  But no one gives a shit about seeing Freddie Freeman at the All Star game.  Due to some half assed plan, cooked up by the Toronto Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves where they both voted for each other’s candidates, Freddie Freeman is going to the All Star game.  I could write 1000 words on this travesty and how this damages the integrity of baseball more than any steroid issue could but I’ll leave it to this one quip… This Toronto / Atlanta team-up sounds like the fifth Lethal Weapon movie.  The white pot smoking cop that doesn’t play by the rules, teams up with the black no nonsense southern cop that has a chip on its shoulder for being passed up for promotion because of the color of his skin; they get together to figure out who was secretly behind the fleecing and grand theft of the Miami public’s money when its baseball team was held hostage for a new stadium and tax incentives.  This episode would be called, Maple Town Freaknik and the case of the slippery Marlin.

Here is the true problem.  If this was a white player that had come up through the traditional farm system or out of college, MLB would find a place for him.  The truth is that Puig is an enigma to everyone.  He’s as black as Hispanics get.  He doesn’t speak English.  He’s literally “off the boat.”  He’s seen as a totally raw talent that doesn’t listen to authority.  He’s eccentric.  He’s seen as not giving the proper respect to veteran players.  His translator has been reprimanded for trying to get women’s phone numbers on behalf of Puig.  He rarely does interviews.  And the sin of all sins in sport, he’s cocky while being young and hasn’t won anything.  I don’t play the race / ethnic card very often.  In fact I despise it 99% of the time.  But let’s face it; race and baseball have had a long history.  As we celebrate Jackie Robinson, let’s also remember why we have to.  Puig is Mike Trout with better numbers.  He’s Bryce Harper but with consistency.  Matt Harvey is the Mets’ pitcher who will be starting the All Star game this year.  He’s a rookie as well but he’s played the whole first half.  This is not to knock Harvey, who looks like he’ll be apart of the Cy Young talk for the next 10+ years, but he only plays every 5^th day.  He’s played in less games than Puig but he gets to not only be in the All Star game but will start because it’s in Mets CITI Field, and guess what… he happens to be white.

Puig is young, rich, doesn’t speak the language, he chases women, likes to party, he’s new to Los Angeles (one of the most dangerous cities to be all the above in) and plays a reckless exciting brand of baseball.  If you had all these things going for you, what would you do?  How would you act being a defector to a new country?  How did all of us act at 23 years old?  Should his punishment be to be left out of the All Star game?  If he continues his current play, he could very well be the MVP or lead the Dodgers to at least the playoffs.  Then we’ll look back at the 2013 season and be dumbfounded that this guy, who sparked a drowning team, saved the coach from being fired and set the league on fire, didn’t make the All Star game?

He should be in the All Star game without all this debate.  The plus side of the debate is that he’ll probably get more recognition than if he’d just been voted into the game normally.  God willing, he’ll keep up his awesome play for the rest of the season.  As a Dodger unabashed “homer”, if Kemp can get healthy, we’re looking at a lineup with Puig, Gonzalez, Kemp, Ramirez and whatever you can get out of the Ethier / Crawford duo as the heart of the lineup?!  Nothing could make me happier or sounds scarier for opposing pitchers. 

Sports have become Religions, Corporations and Monopolies.  Writers, enthusiasts, owners, players (mostly veterans and retired players) and management all forget what is at the heart of sport.  It’s supposed to be fun and entertaining.  My favorite line is from Tim Kirchen, an ESPN writer / analyst, is “Every time you go to a game, you’ll see something you’ve never seen before.”  With Puig playing, you’re chances of that “something” being amazing multiplies by 1000%.   

Then again, looks who’s talking.  My blood runs Dodger Blue.  I could be bias.