The most entertaining walk ever

Yasiel Puig is, by far, the most interesting player in baseball right now, and he doesn’t even have a beard. By Owen Main

Nobody can say Yasiel Puig doesn’t care.

In the midst of one of the greatest starts to a career ever, Puig has been a lightning rod for both criticism and praise. He is a hitting machine one minute, and one of the worst base runners in the majors the next. It’s the kind of combination we haven’t seen since Manny Ramirez.

No matter how you describe him, Puig is compelling. His at-bats must be watched. Last night, Puig walked in the 5th and continued the circus as he tried to score on an error by the Diamondbacks outfielder. The Cuban was out from here to Havana.

He came up again in the 6th inning with runners on first and second and one out. It was one of the most entertaining at-bats of the night.

Kennedy got two strikes on Puig with pitches just out of the strike zone. Puig kept his swagger and, in this case at least, his poise. The final two pitches were a curveball low and away and a fastball up and out of the strike zone. Puig took them both and earned a trip down to first base.

Watching Puig as dialed-in as he was, taking pitches that seemed like they would be tantalizing to a young, unbridled rookie, made the Dodger fan inside of me giggle.

Then Puig did something that made only the most beastly, competitive, testosterone-driven part of me giggle. After not getting a single real pitch to hit in the at-bat, Puig stared down Kennedy, who had hit Puig in the head about a month ago, as he trotted to first. Puig may think of himself as an “alpha dog,” but if he plans to survive the league and fulfill his promise, he must learn to just go to first base. Right or wrong, if he keeps doing that, he’s going to get himself hurt.

Puig was the last batter Kennedy faced last night and later in the inning, the Dodgers scored their final two runs in a 6-1 drubbing of the first-place Diamondbacks.

His focus allowed him to walk twice in innings the Dodgers scored runs. His athleticism allowed him to almost get to a ball in the gap later in the game that was an inch from being the catch of the year. His youthful exuberance, though, got him thrown out at home after a stupid base-running decision. The Dodgers are lucky it didn’t affect the outcome of last night’s game. Dodger fans are also lucky that Puig will come with the same combination of excitement, youth, and IT factor tonight.

When he is playing, it seems like anything really is possible. Say what you will, this has to be the most entertaining player in baseball. Can’t wait to see what he does tonight.