LA Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig has talent, passion and a need for discipline

Gregg Patton writes enough is enough with Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers, an infectious player with all the makings of a superstar but none of the dedication.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig walks in the dugout during a spring training game on Friday. Jeff Chiu / AP / March 18, 2016

No one was surprised when reports surfaced that Yasiel Puig was involved in a Miami nightclub disturbance last fall that included an alleged assault against his sister.

The Cuban, 25, was known as much for his emotional outbursts and off-field controversies as he was for his enormous baseball talent.

What came as a pleasant surprise this week for the Los Angeles Dodgers was that an MLB investigation has found no evidence that Puig struck his sister and nothing to warrant a suspension.

That same afternoon, Puig crushed his first home run of spring training, making for a nice, wishful-thinking storyline for journalists: a homer to mark the moment that one of the sport’s most gifted players was ready to grow up and grow into a respected pillar of the game.

We are a long way from that happy ending, of course.

But it is time the Dodgers demand a change from him, or let him reinvent himself elsewhere.

Read more: Jonathan Raymond writes Barry Bonds belongs in the baseball Hall of Fame

Immature nonsense has been swirling around Puig since he reached the big leagues in June 2013, when he made his first splash on the field.

He recorded 34 hits and seven home runs in his first 20 games, numbers no newcomer in the history of the game had posted before.

It made him an instant fan favourite.

Besides the power, he displayed a rocket of a throwing arm and surprising speed for a thickly built, 6ft 2in (1.88m) tall, 240-pound athlete.

He was Superman in a Dodgers uniform.

Eventually he tapered off, but the promise of that start remains tantalising.

In 104 games that year, he hit 19 home runs, drove in 42 runs, had a .391 on-base percentage and stole 11 bases.

As pitchers learnt his weaknesses – mostly chasing balls off the plate – his production suffered.

Worse, he did not adjust his game enough to meet the challenges.

In 2014, his 16 homers and 69 RBI felt disappointing.

Off the field, he incurred a couple of eye-popping speeding tickets.

He did not drive fast to work, however – he was repeatedly late and occasionally was benched for it.

His less-than-humble personality did not fit the clubhouse.

Puig’s defenders described his on-field bat flips and chest-pounding as spontaneous displays of passion.

Others called it over-the-top showboating.

When those antics led to conflicts with other ballclubs, he endangered his own teammates.

In 2015, a hamstring injury cost him more than half of the season.

The 11 homers and 38 RBI were a fraction of what the organisation thought it would get out of such a remarkable player.

This past off-season, a story made the rounds that the Dodgers’ best player, pitcher Clayton Kershaw, had asked the team to trade Puig.

Kershaw has not denied nor confirmed the story, although both players have said they have no problem with the other.

Now that MLB has cleared Puig to open the regular season with the team, there is a sense of renewed optimism.

Former manager Don Mattingly, who had a strained relationship with Puig, is 3,000 miles away with the Miami Marlins, and new manager Dave Roberts has talked of having a clean slate for Puig.

Even Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times this week that he was "impressed" with the work Puig has put in.

Call it a crossroads for the still-young outfielder.

No one will criticise his outsized personality if he channels his passion for the game into better work habits and less off-field drama.

Dodgers fans clearly want to marvel at his skills, cheer him as a productive, game-changing player, and embrace his infectious enthusiasm.

It’s up to Puig to embrace some discipline.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport