Yasiel Puig has not had any problems adjusting to Major League pitching, but he has had numerous problems dealing with the media.
Puig’s reluctance to speak with the media has been noted by many reporters. Last month, Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Juan Uribe got into it with Puig and forced him to talk to reporters. The Dodgers even adopted a special policy for Puig that doesn’t require him to speak to reporters before games.
“For me, playing baseball is easier than anything else. Because it’s what I’ve done all my life, play baseball,” Puig said in July. “But the press is something new for me. And it’s something new and it’s difficult because sometimes they put in things that I never said.”
Based on Puig’s distaste for reporters, it’s no surprise to hear that Puig cursed at the media prior to Monday’s Dodgers-Miami Marlins game.
AM 790’s Josh Friedman reported that Puig said “f–k the media” in Spanish prior to Monday’s game. Friedman says Puig made an equally distasteful sexual comment toward the media. ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne described the incident differently. The context given by Shelburne makes Puig’s remarks seem less hateful and confrontational.
For the record, I was in the clubhouse when Puig said what he said. It was in jest and not addressed to anyone specifically.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 19, 2013
Puig was basically venting to a couple teammates about some of the reports about him hanging with LeBron last night.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 19, 2013
While the context and feelings behind Puig’s remarks can be debated among witnesses, we know that this is the latest example of the outfielder having problems with the media. On Monday, TMZ reported that Puig, Matt Kemp, and Carl Crawford partied at LIV nightclub with LeBron James upon arriving in Miami on Sunday night. They noted that the evening of partying came after a loss.
While I can understand Puig being upset about the TMZ report, he really needs to understand that speaking with beat reporters on a daily basis is part of the job. And after reading all this, I bet Puig is upset with me for reporting about him parting at the Playboy Mansion over the All-Star Break.
