Baseball players are in their numbers but only a few rise to the echelon of true champions with their names becoming almost synonymous with America’s beloved sports. This Cuban-born MLB player, Yasiel Puig is one out of the lots. He hit his fans with so much delight in his rookie year with each swing of his bat which established him as a force to reckon with in the game. A right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he became known for his volatile style of play which earned him the nickname “The Wild Horse.”
Who is Yasiel Puig?
Born on December 7, 1990, as Yasiel Puig Valdés in Cienfuegos, Cuba, he began hitting the ball when he was nine. His parents are Omar, an engineer in a sugar cane factory, and Maritza Puig his mother. Yasiel has a younger sibling, a sister named Yaima Puig.
Prior to his joining forces with the Dodgers in 2012, he was a member of the Cuban bronze medal winning team in 2008 during the World Junior Baseball Championship. After umpteenth unsuccessful attempts to defect from his native country to one where he could become eligible to sign a contract in MLB, success clicked in 2012 which was followed by a contract with the Dodgers. Yasiel Puig signed a seven-year deal for a fee of $42 million with the Los Angeles based team on June 28, 2012.
After a successful minor league career where he proved to be a phenom, Puig was called up to the big league on June 2, 2013, making his debut the following day. Having honed his skills in the minor leagues and training, he took the major league by storm, making his presence felt from his first games.
At the end of his rookie season, he had hit .319 in 104 games with 19 home runs and 42 RBIs in his rookie season. Following his successful premiere on the MLB, he made his first All-Star team, was selected by Baseball America to their annual All-Rookie team as well as placed second behind fellow countryman, for the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year Award. Not resting on his oars, Yasiel went on to a record-breaking 2014 season wherein he set a new record for the longest streak by a Dodger in May since 1985, he went 4-5 with a career-high four extra-base hits, setting a Dodgers’ record 3 triples tying with two other teammates. He finished the season with 16 home runs and 69 RBI, and a .296 batting average.
In 2015, his performances were hampered by hamstring injuries which he battled with more than he batted the ball resulting in an all career lows record including 11 homers. Also beset by injuries in a so-so 2016 season wherein he was also demoted to the minors, he, nevertheless, bounced back in 2017 setting career bests with 28 home runs, 74 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.
Additionally, for his play in the right field, he was selected as the recipient of the 2017 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award and played with the Dodgers in the World Series where two of his four hits were home runs.
Puig started the 2018 season on a rough start and was also intercepted by a hip injury in April. He was placed on a 10-day disabled list but returned in May. As of 2018, the polarizing slugger with an admirable consistency in hitting the ball is in his final season as a Dodger and would be available for salary arbitration next season. He will be represented by his new agent, Beverly Hills Sports Council (former agent, Wasserman Media Group cut ties with him in February 2018).
Who is Yasiel Puig’s Wife or Girlfriend?
The Cuban-born slugger may be known for the mercurial nature of his career and his volatile displays on the field but he sure knows how to keep his acts together as a father and a lover. Though he is yet to tie the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Andrea De La Torre or pop the question, the duo who started dating in 2014 is already parents. Yasiel dated Nicole Chaves who gave birth to his first son Diego Alejandro in December 2013.
There is very little known about Andrea save that she is of Mexican descent and has two brothers; Edgar and Diego De La Torre who she features occasionally on her Instagram. She gave birth to Yasiel’s second son and her first, Daniel Sebastian on February 2, 2017.
Yasiel Puig’s Height, Weight, and Body Measurements
The right fielder has not only evolved into a freak athlete with great strength and speed and maturity on his heels, he has also been able to keep up with a chiseled physique. He is 6′ 2″ tall which is 1.88 in meters and maintains a body weight of 245 lbs i.e. 111 kg.
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