Hard to imagine a player whose actual trip to the Majors was
met with more obstacles than Yasiel Puig’s. 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 in
his very first week. He continued to impress as a rookie, batting .319 with 19
homers over 104 games and helping the Dodgers win the N.L. West Division. “Wild
Horse”—as Vin Scully so eloquently dubbed him—continues to showcase his five
tools like hybrid between Bo Jackson and Roberto Clemente, making plays in the
outfield you have to see to believe.
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 pitcher Dale Thayer into the left-center field seats. He went 2 for 4
that day and his solo shot turned out to be the game-winner for the Dodgers as
they held on for the 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 conclusively photo-matched to the 9/1/13 home run by the experts at
Resolution Photomatching. It includes documentation from MLB Authenticated 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.
The 2017 season represented a tremendous turnaround for the now
26-year-old. He set career highs in home runs (28), RBI (74), and stolen bases
(15), while playing outstanding defense in right field for the N.L. West Champions.
He has had some big hits in the 2017 postseason as Big Blue seeks its first World Series title since 1988.
MLB Auth. # EK 816887.
LOA from Resolution Photomatching matching the bat to 9/1/13 HR.