Dodgers: Yasiel Puig Delivers Signature Career Moment

The Dodgers are headed to their second straight World Series, this time against the Boston Red Sox.  Yasiel Puig had his finger prints all over last night’s win thanks in large part to a career defining moment.

Yasiel Puig is one of the most intriguing players in baseball and due to his alter ego the “Wild Horse” he tends to draw attention from plenty of opposing teams and fans.  Up until Saturday night, the career of Puig lacked a signature moment, although there have always been plenty of highlights.

Most of Puig’s career highlights leading up to Saturday’s game have more to do with great catches and even better throws.  If you look up Puig, most of the videos that will surface have Puig throwing lazers to third base in some of the most amazing throws you’ll ever see on a baseball field.  The knock on Puig is that he used to lack fundamentals, like hitting the relay man on throws and making  puzzling base running blunders.

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From newspaper articles to fans themselves, Yasiel Puig has always been looked at as an under-performer and overrated baseball player.  Part of it has to do with the insane athletic ability that Puig possesses, and part of it has to do with the fact that Puig comes across as boastful and always trying to ignite his Dodger teammates around him.  Puig hurt his expectations himself as he was one of the most exciting players in baseball when he first broke into the big leagues.

The most important highlight of Yasiel Puig’s career came last night when Puig belted a three run homer in the top of the sixth inning against Jeremy Jeffress.  The Dodgers were already up 2-1, but Puig’s home run was the insurance provider that the Dodgers needed.  It gave the Dodgers a four run cushion and allowed Dave Roberts to bring Jansen into the game earlier than usual.

Puig made Dodger history this postseason by becoming the all-time leader in playoff games played for the Dodgers.  Now Puig is in Dodger history for another reason, sealing the Dodgers appearance in the 2018 World Series.  Yasiel had a strong September in which he blasted four home runs in a twenty-four hour span, he also had a good NLCS hitting over .300 with four RBI’s.

Those four runs batted in by Yasiel Puig gave him a share of the team lead for the NLCS along with the NLCS MVP Cody Bellinger.  Bellinger earned the MVP award but a case could have been made for Puig to be the NLCS MVP.  Regardless, Puig now has a signature career moment to his MLB resume, and the Dodgers are once again headed to the World Series.