Yasiel Puig, Defection, and the Road to Dodger Stadium

Most people understand that it is very difficult for someone to achieve success as a professional athlete. It takes years of hard work, dedication, sprints until you puke, performing through pain, etc, etc. But the sorts of challenges most athletes have to deal with take a back seat in comparison to the survival story of Yasiel Puig and his successful defection from Cuba.

A year ago, ESPN The Magazine published a story by Scott Eden covering the harrowing account of Puig’s escape from Cuba, arrival in Mexico, and eventual signing with the Dodgers. Near the same time was the publication of a similar long form story by Jesse Katz in Los Angeles Magazine. Both versions are well written, extensively researched, and shed new light on many of the details surrounding what was Puig’s fifth attempt at escape to the States.

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The details of this story are being brought to light again as this past week Gilberto Suarez, the Florida businessman who received $2.5 million from Puig for helping to smuggle him into the United States, was sentenced to a one-month prison term for violating U.S. immigration laws.

Suarez’s involvement in smuggling Puig into the country was relatively limited compared to other transporters. He drove the then-21-year-old Cuban defector in a taxi from Mexico City to the Texas border in 2012, the near final leg of an epic journey the Dodger outfielder had made over the previous weeks. It is a testament to the US’s complicated and schizophrenic immigration laws that Puig is able to live freely in the Unites States and make millions as a professional baseball player while Suarez will go to prison, even though both men made the same drive.

It is these complex immigration laws intersecting with Major League Baseball rules that make such a story even possible. If Puig had simply traveled by boat from Cuba to Florida directly (which he had attempted before, but failed), the US “wet-foot-dry foot” policy would have allowed him to apply for legal residency immediately with a lot less drama involving smugglers, gangs, and long drives through Mexico.

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However, due to the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, MLB rules in 2012 required Cuban players to enter the amateur player draft, reducing their chances of landing a big contract. In order to negotiate with teams directly as free agents, Cuban players have to establish residency in another country (such as Mexico). Since Puig’s case, changes are being proposed to help reduce this complexity which incentivizes the more dangerous route to America rather than the simplest.

Some of the exact details in Puig’s remarkable defection might be exaggerated and should be taken with a grain of salt, but when looked at in its totality there is little doubt the young man endured much to achieve his goal. If nothing else, this story gives perspective. When Puig is facing another 0-2 count by a flamethrower on the mound or lining up another patented launch from right field to third base, somewhere in the back of his mind he must be drawing from his past experience, reminding himself that he’s conquered bolder, more dangerous obstacles before.

Baseball’s a kid’s game, and we all love how Puig attacks it as such. His confidence and showmanship are part of what makes him so endearing. Reading about his trek to the promised land of Los Angeles should add another layer of gratitude for all fans who marvel at this man’s performance on the field.

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