Thoughts on Yasiel Puig Failing to Make the All-Star Team

Yesterday, we reached the conclusion the MLB All Star Game's "Final Vote" to determine who would be the final two names added to the 2013 All-Star rosters.  In the American League, Toronto Blue Jays reliever Steve Delabar won the vote.  However, the bigger storyline was Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman edging out Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig in the National League.  And I couldn't be happier that it happened.

Not only is Yasiel Puig not quite deserving of a spot on the All-Star team, he's not ready for it just yet.  The 22 year old the Cuban defector has lit the world on fire over the last couple of months posting a torrid .436 average in his first month and has already drawn some perhaps unfair comparisons to greats like Joe DiMaggio and Bo Jackson from fans and experts alike.  He has breathed new life into the disappointing Los Angeles Dodgers with highlight reel plays and mammoth home runs.  Despite tailing off a bit as of late, Puig is still hovering around .400 on the year with a 1.060 OPS.  So on paper, it may seem like he is deserving of a spot on the team.  But the facts against Puig remain.  Having only played in 36 games to date, the kid has yet to pay his dues.  In fact, when you really think about it, not to take anything away from Puig who has performed phenomenally thus far,but "Puig-mania" is, in essence, a case of a player having one good month.  Think about it.  He's only been in the majors for a little over a month and is already showing the initial signs of slowing down.  Isn't that all the Linsanity was? A player had one good month, took the universe by storm to the point of us considering him one of the five best players at his position and then tailed off drastically down the stretch and made us wonder why we were so infatuated with him in the first place. I'm not saying this is what is destined to become Puig's fate, but just that perhaps we shouldn't read too much into this first month of his.  

Reading deeper into Puig's numbers is further damning, especially compared to Freeman.  Puig's only batted in 19 runs to this point.  Newsflash: driving in runs is what wins ballgames.  Look at good ol' Freddie.  60 RBIs for the first place Braves.  What about K/BB ratio? Puig's stands at 36 punchouts to 7 walks (in other words, he strikes out over five times as often as he walks) while Freeman boasts a 67 K's to 37 walks line (less than 2 strikeouts for every drawn walk).  WAR? That goes to Freeman too (2.9 to Puig's 2.6).  So to everyone who thinks Puig is a better choice than Freeman if you want to win the ballgame, think again.

Hey Yasiel! ¿Estas enojado?

I also doubt Puig's maturity and not only his ability to handle being a potential MLB All Star, but also his ability to handle just being in the big leagues.  It seems like his initial success has started to get to his head and as a result, his ego is becoming inflated.  He has shown reluctance bordering on contempt towards the media, often refusing to do interviews all together or cutting them painfully short when they do happen.  This Barry Bonds and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-like relationship with the media that he has already established doesn't bode well for Puig's image and makes it easy doubt his readiness for the glare and attention of being a professional baseball player.  One unsettling story that came out recently involved Diamondbacks' legend Luis Gonzalez approaching Puig to discuss some similarities in their respective situations and perhaps to offer some advice, even going out of his way to speak to Puig in his native tongue, Spanish.  Puig reportedly completely gave Gonzalez the cold shoulder and ignored him, refusing to even look up and acknowledge Gonzalez's presence.  Some have said that Puig, who got a scolding from Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire as a result of the incident, may have had hostilities to anyone involved with the Diamondbacks organization after being hit in the nose by an Ian Kennedy fastball to help spark the Dodger-D'Backs brawl last month (an incident which gave Puig another image: that of a hothead.  Man, Yasiel Puig sure isn't creating the best public image for himself, that's for sure.) I call BS on that one.  Imagine if a young star rookie in the NBA like Trey Burke was involved in an altercation with like a Steve Nash or someone.  Does that give Burke the right to give the cold shoulder to Magic Johnson if Johnson tried to approach him? I didn't think so.  And just watching Puig, he carries himself with arrogance.  His priorities aren't in the right place.  He tries to swing for the fences every at bat, stares down pitchers, and always tries for the highlight reel play.  I remember seeing a highlight where a batter lifted a routine flyball into right center and Andre Ethier was ready to make a routine catch but Puig dove in front of him at the last second for a circus catch.  Another highlight several games later showed Ethier waving off Puig to make the catch on another routine flyball and you could just see Puig's body language saying "To hell with this guy.  That was mine."  This is a guy that seems to have some serious maturity issues both on and off the field and the bright lights of the All Star Game are the last thing that this guy needs.

There are some that might make the argument that "Hey, both Mike Trout and Bryce Harper made the All Star Game last year as rookies.  Why not Puig? He's just as good."  Yeah, you could make the argument that Puig's as good as Trout and Harper.  If you have a brain injury.  For one, Harper and Trout were called up in late April last year and had over a month more of extra experience to put on their baseball resumes than Puig who was called up in early June.  And for another, Trout and Harper are both FIVE-TOOL PLAYERS (probably Trout more so than Harper but that's an argument for another day).  Yasiel Puig is a three tool-player at best.  He can't really run (only 5 stolen bases on the year and even 3 caught stealings) and he can't really be considered a great fielder when he keeps running into walls and hurting himself.  In fact, with a glass half-empty approach, he's a two-tool player if you want to dismiss the spectacular double play/throw em out to end the game against the Padres in his debut as a fluke.  But no, that guy's got a cannon.  Can't deny that.  At this point in their respective careers, it's almost insulting to put Puig in the same conversation as those two.  To use the Linsanity comparison again, how many people legitimately put Jeremy Lin in the same conversation as Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and a healthy D-Rose? I'll give you a hint.  It starts with a "Z" and ends with an "O." ZERO.

All in all, I am indeed very glad that Yasiel Puig will not be in the All Star Game.  He's not ready mentally and he wasn't the best choice amongst the Final Vote candidates.  The timing is just not right.  Maybe further down the road he gest his act together: puts his priorities in the right place, starts to embrace and have fun with the media, starts to respect the game and those who have paved the way for him, and proves to us all that this wasn't a fluke. When he does that, he will be welcomed into the Hall of MLB All-Stars.  But until then, he will have to settle for watching the festivities of All-Star Weekend 2013 unfold on his couch at home.  Then again, maybe someone on the NL team gets hurt and Puig makes the All-Star team as an injury replacement.  Oh well.