Hard to imagine a player whose actual "trip" to the Majors was met with more obstacles than Yasiel Puig. The Cuban import signed with the Dodgers in 2012 for $42 million after a treacherous journey [in his 13th attempt] from his homeland, a story involving Mexican drug cartels and secretive island safe houses with more plot twists than a Michael Mann thriller. Puig debuted with the big club on June 2, 2013, and made an instant splash, hitting four home runs and driving in ten runs to win National League Player of the Week honors in his very first week. “Wild Horse” – as Vin Scully so eloquently dubbed him – continued to impress as a rookie, batting .319 with 19 homers over 104 games and helping the Dodgers win the NL West. The now 27-year-old looks to build on his solid 2017 campaign in which he set career highs in homers (28), RBI (74), and stolen bases (15) while playing Gold Glove caliber defense in right field.
Featured here is the bat Puig swung to hit home run #14 on Sept. 1, 2013, of his rookie campaign, and it was an important one. Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 6th, Yasiel launched the first pitch he saw from Padres hurler Dale Thayer into the left-centerfield seats. He went 2 for 4 and his solo shot turned out to be the game-winner for the Dodgers as they held on for a 2-1 victory behind a strong Zack Greinke outing. What’s more, Puig did it on “Cuban Heritage Day” at Dodgers Stadium, to which a proud Vin Scully calls out during his HR call in the video below. The piece of lumber has been professionally photo-matched to the 9/1/13 home run by the experts at Resolution Photomatching. Included is documentation from MLB Authentication explaining that Puig cracked it the following game in Colorado.
The 34.5” and 34-oz. two-toned Old Hickory professional model bat shows outstanding use, with ball marks and stitch impressions throughout the barrel as well as a moderate coat of pine tar covering the handle. The handle is blue from Puig’s batting gloves. A piece of black protective medical tape covers the 4” handle crack—this is how the bat was received by MLB. The barrel is labeled “34.5 PRO MAPLE YP66” and LDMX-1307570-YP1” with his name below. A blue Dodgers sticker with Puig’s No. 66 in red is affixed to the knob. Terrific rookie HR gamer.
MLB Auth. # EK 816887. LOA from Resolution Photomatching with conclusive 9/1/13 photo-match to Getty 179434361.