LA Dodgers 2015 Season Preview: Yasiel Puig for MVP

Will 2015 be the year of the Puig?

Yasiel Puig, 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, a beast of a man.

Love him? Hate him?

Either way, he is must see TV.

Will Puig be the angelic No. 66 who carries the Dodgers to glory? Or will Puig be the 666 and bring them down a path of self destruction?

“I would hate to see a game where there wasn’t any emotion. I like to see it. I think the fans enjoy it. I would love to see more.” -Vin Scully

After finishing his rookie year hitting a .319 batting average and adding 19 home runs with 42 RBI’s in only 104 games — the ceiling for Puig was looking very high indeed.

Many people were projecting that we could be seeing the next great player in baseball, maybe even one of the best of all time. Then something happened.

Puig showed he had personality.

Whereas most baseball players and fans believe ball players should go out on the field and act like robots, Puig appealed to the more emotional, pumped up, animated crowd. Puig feels like the game should be played with emotion.

Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reported that Vin Scully, the Dodgers legendary announcer even chimed in saying “I would hate to see a game where there wasn’t any emotion. I like to see it. I think the fans enjoy it. I would love to see more.”

Who are we to disagree with the great Vin Scully?

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After the Dodgers crashed out of the 2013 playoffs to the Cardinals, the talk began of projecting Puig’s 2014 season. However, the tone quickly changed when Puig was charged with reckless driving in Florida.

Apparently Puig drove as fast as he plays being clocked at 110 mph. The charges were later dropped although Puig still received his speeding ticket. Puig then showed up to training camp 26 pounds overweight according to Don Mattingly. This to many of the Puig haters proved to them that Puig did not take his profession seriously.

The icing on the cake was the stories that continued to come out last year regarding the mayhem that Yasiel Puig had to go through in order to defect from Cuba into the United States. Scott Eden of ESPN the magazine even wrote a 7 chapter story appropriately titled “No One Walks Off The Island” about the whole ordeal.

To say Puig was distracted heading into the 2014 season would be an understatement. It was a season to forget in many ways for the young outfielder. Even as deep into the season as September, there were many distractions going on around Puig. Bill Shaikin of the LA Times even went through his checklist of rumors surrounding Puig.

Puig would finish the 2014 regular season with 16 home runs and 69 RBI, and a .296 batting average.

Puig’s numbers were down from a year before, which gave Puig haters even more firepower.

“If you get the guys in your team to like you and respect you, the outside will follow.” – Jimmy Rollins

Heading into the 2015 MLB season, there is a real sense of focus and maturity surrounding Yasiel Puig. The signing of several veterans including Jimmy Rollins should help to further guide the young star along his path to baseball glory.

Puig showed up a week early heading into spring training for the Dodgers. Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today writes that Rollins even went as far as to say “From what I see and what I’ve heard, he’s inserting himself into more of a team role, as opposed to just, ’66, Yasiel Puig,’ ” Rollins said.

“And that’s good for everybody, but even more so, it’s good for him. If you get the guys in your team to like you and respect you, the outside will follow.”

Yasiel Puig is setting out to play the only way he knows how: hard, fast, and God willing with emotion. When the dust settles, he will be in the MVP conversation.

Viva Puig!

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