Yasiel Puig recently said having to adjust to MLB’s rules of decorum means having less fun. “They’ve wanted to change so many things about me that I feel so off,” he told ESPN. “I don’t feel like the player I was in 2013.” Puig tried to enjoy himself last night, taking his time with a home run in the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the Mets. He got yelled at for it.
Puig’s fourth-inning, three-run homer off of Tyler Pill put L.A. up 5-1, and Puig circled the bases in a dilatory 32.1 seconds, the second-longest trot in the majors this season. In defense, he was distracted by exchanging words with Wilmer Flores at first and then Travis d’Arnaud at home.
Flores said he told Puig to “run the bases.” Puig responded, according to Flores, “Fuck you.”
Between innings, Jose Reyes and Yoenis Cespedes spoke to Puig.
“After I talked to Cespedes, he told me, ‘Try to run a little bit faster,’ and tried to give me some advice,” Puig said through a translator. “I don’t look at it that way, but it is what it is.”
Puig initially told reporters he didn’t remember what happened after the homer, but quickly admitted that he was fired up because the Mets had walked a batter to face him.
Flores revealed that this may have had more to do with general frustration about how bad this season has been.
“I don’t think he knows what having respect for the game is. We’re playing horrible right now, we don’t need his shit.”
The Mets and Dodgers meet back up tonight. Let’s hope everyone spends the day reading the unwritten rules.