There’s aggressiveness on the basepaths, and then there’s forcing a play. During the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks in Arizona, Yasiel Puig demonstrated the latter.
In the top of the fifth inning, Adrian Gonzalez came to the plate with the bases loaded, driving a long fly ball to straightaway center field. The runners had to freeze as Arizona center fielder Adam Eaton tracked the ball to the warning track, but Ricky Nolasco and Carl Crawford scored easily when the ball appeared to ricochet of Eaton’s glove.
Puig, however, ran through a stop sign from third base coach Tim Wallach and was easily tagged out by catcher Miguel Montero on the relay throw home. Puig appeared to make a halfhearted attempt to collide with Montero, and, after the play, Montero had an extra message for Puig, giving him a finger-wag as the young phenom trudged back to the dugout.
After the game, Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy went a step further, calling out Puig for his overly aggressive play and, presumably, that missed sign.
“He plays with a lot of arrogance,” said Kennedy, according to FOX Sports Arizona’s Jack Magruder. “He’s young.”
Check out Puig’s bonehead play and Montero’s finger-wag in the video below.
