Smallthoughts: Yasiel Puig at the Crossroads…Will he Rebound?

Yasiel Puig made his debut in the major leagues in 2013 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and made quite an impression right away. In his first at-bat he singled to left-center off Eric Stults of the San Diego Padres. He was 2 for 4 in the game, and showcased his strong arm by recording an outfield assist on a double play to end the game. He continued to make a strong impression…Puig hit two home runs, doubled, and drove in five runs in his second game. He became the first Dodger ever to have a multi-homer game in one of his first two appearances.  Puig is extremely talented, he makes playing baseball look easy …too easy. Hits with power, has speed for days and has a cannon for a throwing arm, all the things you look for in a baseball player, he has personality …sometime too much personality and that is what is causing Puig to be at the crossroads of a budding superstar career. Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw and Mike trout are the best in the sport …Puig is right there every bit as good as Harper and Trout, and Harper is just as fiery and just as emotional as Puig so what’s the difference? Apparently the Washington Nationals see growth gradual growth in Harper in maturing as a player working at his craft. Puig the Dodgers see him as regressing not putting in the work to go with the natural skills that he has.

I know one thing for sure regardless of whether you play baseball, write books for a living or anything else , you have to work at the skills that you excel at, if you don’t talent will only get you so far and then the talent will fade. Personality is good to have but personality will only get you but so far too, the dedication and the work ethic is what makes the difference between good and great. Puig at 25 years of age has a lot of life left in front of him but he is at a crossroads at this part of his young life. Puig is good he has to want to be great and part of that being great is working at it.The Dodgers sent him to the minor leagues after efforts to try to trade him to another team didn’t pan out. After making such a big splash a few years ago no one would have thought it would come to this for Yasiel Puig. Instead of playing in the bright lights of Los Angeles , Puig will now be looking to start over in Oklahoma City the Dodgers triple A affiliate. Can he be the player that made such a strong first impression like he did 3 years ago, sure he can but will he? That is entirely up to him, the work ethic, the desire and the maturity to listen, observe and respect those in and around the game of baseball will have a lot to do with if  Yasiel Puig succeeds or fails as a major league baseball player.He is far from done again at 25 he is far from a finished product but he has to dedicate himself to his craft otherwise he will become a hey what ever happened to Yasiel Puig question.