I just heard a comment on the radio about this player, and I looked up a couple of articles about his "antics at the plate" that really only had quotes from players about how he needs to quit acting like that, and his teammates need to teach him respect for the game, without really specifying what exactly he's been doing. Is it something like watching home runs too long like manny ramirez did? Or they did mention trying to tag up from 3rd base, and the catcher did a mutombo finger wag at him- is trying to go home on a fly ball kind of an unwritten rule of baseball or something?
Seems like MLB player whininess to me... http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/post/_/id/2372 A scout who saw Yasiel Puig in spring training provided this report in March: He plays hard -- really, really hard. He’s got big-time power, to all fields. He can run like crazy. He’s got a great arm. And, the scout said, with zero emotion, "Other players are going to hate him." Every game is filled with small gestures of acknowledgment and respect between brothers of the game. Before batting practice, rival players wave to each other across the field. There are handshakes and hugs among players wearing different uniforms. When Derek Jeter walks to the plate today for his first at-bat of the season, he will nod at the home plate umpire and likely tap the catcher on the shin guard with his bat. If he gets a hit, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer probably will congratulate him and welcome him back. Before the first pitch of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, Jeter stepped into the batter’s box and looked out at the mound at Curt Schilling, and the two men greeted each other with their eyes, like two boxers tapping gloves before the start of a heavyweight fight. It’s part of the game and has been for a lot longer than even old-timers like to admit. What the scout saw in Puig in spring training was someone who played as if he were the only person on the field. Without the niceties and with the body language that makes it clear that he believes he is the best player on the field and everybody else should get the heck out of the way. And it’s working for him. He’s hitting .394 and has been a driving force for the Dodgers in their push from the bottom of the National League West. Whether you like this or hate it, this is the way he is. This is how he goes about his business, and as the scout predicted, he’s rubbing other players the wrong way -- not only on other teams but also in his own clubhouse. The Diamondbacks’ Miguel Montero became one of the first players to put voice to it before Wednesday’s game. From Tyler Emerick’s story: "If he's my teammate, I probably try to teach him how to behave in the big leagues," Montero said. "He's creating a bad reputation around the league, and it's unfortunate because the talent that he has is to be one of the greatest players in the big leagues. "Right now, I'm not going to say he's the best because he hasn't proved anything yet. Does he have talent? Of course. Does he have the tools? Of course. He's got so much talent, it'd be really bad if he wasted it doing the stupid things that he's doing. You have to respect to earn respect. If you don't respect anybody, you aren't going to earn respect." Even though Puig has been with the Dodgers for just over a month, the D-backs already have a lengthy history with the 22-year-old. On June 11, Ian Kennedy hit Puig with a pitch in the nose in a game that saw two bench-clearing incidents resulting in eight suspensions. Puig was fined for his role, but he wasn't given a ban, something that irked D-backs players who said he punched former Arizona first baseman Eric Hinske in the back of the head. Then on Tuesday, Puig was thrown out easily at the plate in the fifth inning but not before he collided with Montero and then stared down the catcher as he walked back to the dugout. Replays showed Montero waving his finger at the rookie, a la former NBA big man Dikembe Mutombo. "I don't blame him running me over, it's part of the game," Montero said. "The only thing I really don't appreciate is why you have to look back at me. I really don't appreciate that." Luis Gonzalez wasn’t thrilled with Puig either, after an exchange with him. How other players feel about him might be irrelevant in the end. Barry Bonds was disliked by almost all his teammates and many opposing players because they found him to be completely self-centered. In time, we’ll know if any of this perception affects Puig in any way. He has earned the role of villain, writes Bill Plaschke. The Diamondbacks bullpen unraveled, Hanley Ramirez came up big again, and the Dodgers drew to within 1½ games of first place.
Thanks major, that was the most I'd gotten out of any of the articles so far, and the only specifics mentioned are more about things he's not doing, the weird unwritten rule customs I've never even heard of like tapping catchers on their shinguards (wtf?!), but that's just not doing something you're supposed to, hardly antics. Otherwise the closest I can find in terms of antics, acts of commission, are generalities like body language: "...someone who played as if he were the only person on the field. Without the niceties and with the body language that makes it clear that he believes he is the best player on the field and everybody else should get the heck out of the way." I don't even know what that means, how you can get all that from body language without simply inventing his thoughts in your own head. I knew baseball was weird, but I really can't wrap my mind around this one at all. Imagine what these offended mlb players think of the nfl & nba.
Yes it is wonderfully weird, but that's just how it is and it won't change; we can think it's silly and antiquated but we don't play major league baseball, so it's pretty much their call. Do not ever, ever, ever show people up would be main rule #1.
^without any specific examples, just general body language = "he thinks he's better than us", i have to agree with dada & major. The weird part to me is not how showing people up is frowned upon (in fact I'm all for that, & would like to see more of that attitude in other sports), but the stuff like tapping catchers' shin guards, & the disconnect I find between not doing weird customs like that & showing people up. Or has anyone here seen any videos or gifs or anything they can specifically cite that demonstrates the worst of what he's doing to show people up? I get for instance, i mentioned manny ramirez standing there watching his home runs, and I understand that's a no-no. This is the type of thing I was hoping to find when I heard these critiques on the radio yesterday.
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Puig is exactly what baseball needs. A villain because he's so damn good. Not a villain because he's a cheater or anything like that, just that he is so good that people hate on him. I love it.
The "he thinks he's better than us" body language is an indication of him really thinking he is better than everyone. Him flipping the bat so dramatically every time he homers is reminiscent of Barry Bonds and the ambivalent media attention throughout his time in San Francisco. He also ignores the base-running advice of the base coaches and makes bad decisions on the paths. Is he actually better than anyone, to the level of a Barry Bonds, that he is entitled to act the way he does? I don't think he's really proven that yet. I personally don't have a problem with him, I don't think most MLB players do, and clearly the public supports him. Essentially sports writers across the country agree simultaneously to ask this question to everyone associated with baseball and publish the strongest reactions they can find.
Miguel Montero should thank Puig cause I've never heard of the dude before he started whining about the Dodger.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Yasiel Puig was in the visitors clubhouse here at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Marlins&src=hash">#Marlins</a> Park & looked at us gathered there and yelled, "F**K the media" and left the room</p>— Josh Friedman (@Friedo790) <a href="https://twitter.com/Friedo790/statuses/369560455942926336">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>I wasn't at Puig's press conf b/c it was all in Spanish with a translator but he told the media to perform a sexual act I can't print here</p>— Josh Friedman (@Friedo790) <a href="https://twitter.com/Friedo790/statuses/369561953292668928">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I guess I'm one of the few people who's ok with players policing one another. Is it oversensitive? Absolutely. However, the line has been clear for a long time. The batters box is for hitting, not showing off. These players are going to work when they step on that mound, or getting into that box. They aren't getting on stage. This is, of course, player mentality more than my personal opinion. Bryce Harper gets some heat for the hair, the eye black, the occasional display of arrogance... but he clearly has a better understanding of the rules players hold one another to. That certain behavior isn't tolerated, even though there are policies on paper to expressly forbid them. If a players wants to say, "screw that, I'm doing things my way." That's fine. Go right ahead, BUT don't act surprised when you start getting plunked. Right or wrong, flipping your bat with flair, throwing your hands up in the air after a homer, sliding into the plate after a home run.... You reap what you sew. Those types of things might be fun, and by all means keep doing them because it makes for a great story.... but a player has to be aware of the reactions other players will have and just live with them. My personal view? Just keep Selig and the umps out of these matters. Also, Puig better not start turning the media again him too. Having the players & media out for your reputation is a nasty mix.
First off, Puig comes off like a punk and I could see how that would get old if you had to play with him or against him. With that being said, baseball is my favorite sport, but I seriously dislike the macho culture that surrounds the game when it comes to stuff like this. Players get butthurt about God knows what (a slow home run trot, hot-dogging, whatever else) and their reaction is to demand that their pitchers hit opposing batters or speak in vague cliches about how the player in question needs to "respect the game." If you don't like a guy, get him out and beat his team. Don't speak out or take matters into your own hands so that you can "protect the game" like some sort of knight in shining armor coming to rescue the damsel in distress that is baseball.
For sure. It certainly goes overboard. Plunking a guy for sliding into home plate after taking your teammate yard? By all means. Throwing at A-Rod 4 times as payback for off the field transgressions? Unacceptable. The rules are to maintain a certain amount of respect amounts players without having the league get involved. Not act as judge/jury/executioner, dealing out justice for the wrong decisions a batter has made in life.
