Yasiel Puig Valdés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpwiɣ]; born December 7, 1990) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Puig played for the Cuban national baseball team in the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship, winning a bronze medal. He defected from Cuba in 2012, and signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Dodgers. He made his MLB debut on June 3, 2013. In 2013, Puig hit .319 in 104 games with 19 home runs, and was selected by Baseball America to their annual “All-Rookie team”.
Puig played for the Cuban national baseball team in the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship, winning a bronze medal. He then played for the Cienfuegos team of the Cuban National Series in the 2008–09 Cuban National Series. He batted .276 with five home runs in his debut season. Puig enjoyed a breakout season in the 2009-10 Cuban National Series, with a .330 batting average, 17 home runs, 47 runs batted in (RBIs) and 78 runs scored in 327 at-bats. Puig also played for the Cuban national team in the 2011 World Port Tournament where he tried to defect along with teammate Gerardo Concepcion. Concepcion was successful while Puig was not and was disciplined by not being allowed to play during the 2011–12 seasons.
DEFECTION FROM CUBA TO MEXICO.
Since 2011, he tried to defect to Mexico five times, in order to become a legal resident so he could become eligible to sign a contract in Major League Baseball. He was taken to Mexico by the Los Zetas, a murderous Mexican drug cartel involved in cocaine and smuggling. At least two were fugitives. The first time, the police pulled over Despaigne’s car. The second time, the boat failed to arrive. The third time, police raided their safe house and detained them for six days. On the fourth try, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant intercepted their boat near Haiti. The fifth time, he went with three companions: a boxer, a pinup girl, and a Santeria priest.
They tried to sell Puig for $250,000 to Floridian Raul Pacheco, the 29-year-old president of Miami-based T&P Metal and PY Recycling. After Puig would sign an MLB contract, he would owe 20% to Pacheco. Pacheco was arrested in 2009 for attempted burglary after asking a friend to help him remove an air-conditioning unit. He told police “I have stolen from these people in the past.” He was arrested in 2010 for using a fake Bank of America credit card to buy $150 worth of beer. Police found four other fraudulent credit cards and a fake ID card. He was sentenced to two years’ probation. In addition, they also offered him to Los Angeles-based agent Gus Dominguez, starting at $175,000. They also offered him to New York-based agent Joe Kehoskie, starting at $250,000. “Nobody’s going to Cuba and bringing out a guy like Yasiel Puig,” Kehoskie said, “and just handing him over to an agent out of the goodness of their heart.”
A month later, the captain of the smuggling boat, Yandrys León, was found dead in Cancun.[6] León was called “one of the most important capos of the Cuban-American mafia” by the United Press International. Cuban boxer Miguel Angel Corbacho Daudinot was sentenced to seven years in prison after Puig testified against him. He filed a federal lawsuit against Puig last year, claiming that Puig violated the Torture Victim Protection Act. He is suing Puig for $12 million.
According to court records, Puig has paid Pacheco over $1.3 million. He also paid $400,000 to $500,000 to Alberto Fariñas, the 49-year-old vice president of Pacheco’s T&P Metal company, and $600,000 to Marcos Gonzalez, a Miami lawyer. He also paid an undisclosed amount to Gilberto Suarez, founder of a start-up company called Miami Sport Management.
AMERICAN CAREER.
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Puig on June 28, 2012, to a seven-year deal worth $42 million. The Dodgers placed him on the 40-man roster and assigned him to their Arizona Rookie League team. In nine games, he hit .400 with four homers and 11 RBI.
On August 13, 2012, the Dodgers promoted Puig to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Class A-Advanced California League. He played in 14 games with the Quakes and hit .327. After the Quakes season, he was scheduled to join the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, but a staph infection in his right elbow required surgery and sidelined him for several months. After the infection healed, he opted to play winter ball in Puerto Rico to keep his development on schedule.
Puig had a very strong spring training with the Dodgers in 2013, hitting .526 in Cactus League games and having some in the press speculate that he might break camp with the Dodgers. However, he was optioned to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League just prior to the end of spring training. He hit .313 with 8 homers and 37 RBI for the Lookouts in 40 games.
MLB CAREER.
2014
On May 17, 2014, Puig had his eighth consecutive game with at least one extra-base hit and at least one RBI, which was a new record for the longest streak by a Dodger, surpassing the marks of Pedro Guerrero (1985), Duke Snider (1954) and Howie Schultz (1944). He was selected as the NL Player of the Week for that week and the National League Player of the Month for May after he hit .393 with eight home runs and 25 RBI. Puig was voted in as a starter for the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the youngest Dodger starter for an All-Star game since Steve Sax in 1982. Puig also accepted an invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star festivities.
On September 19, Puig homered on this pitch in support of Clayton Kershaw’s 20th victory.
On July 25, 2014, Puig went 4-5 with a career-high 4 extra-base hits, setting a Los Angeles Dodgers’ record 3 triples, matching the Dodgers club record of three triples in a game set by Jimmy Sheckard of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1901.
Puig’s teammates Matt Kemp and Dee Gordon each recorded one triple as well, tying the club’s single-game triples record of 5, set in 1902 and 1921.
Puig finished the 2014 regular season with 16 home runs and 69 RBI, and a .296 batting average.
In the 2014 NLDS against the St Louis Cardinals, Puig struck out seven times in a row over the first three games of the series. He then hit a triple and scored the Dodgers’ only run in a 3-1 loss.
Puig was selected to travel to Japan after the season with a team of MLB All-Stars playing against All-Stars of Nippon Professional Baseball in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.
PERSONAL LIFE.
Puig was charged with reckless driving and speeding in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in April 2013, when he was caught driving 97 mph (156 km/h) in a 50 mph (80 km/h) zone. He had those charges dismissed after he served 12 hours of community service.
Puig was arrested on December 28, 2013, on another reckless driving charge for driving 110 MPH in a 70 MPH zone, in Naples, Florida. He was taken to the Collier County Jail. He was released after posting bail. The State of Florida dropped the reckless driving charge on January 28, 2014, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge.
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The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.