Dodgers Video: Puig Reflects On Path To Majors, Public Perception

Upon signing to a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yasiel Puig was immediately placed under a microscope. Many criticized and questioned the Dodgers for signing the Cuban native, who had minimal professional experience in his native country or elsewhere.

Puig tore the cover off the ball in Spring Training, still began the 2013 season in the Minors, but reached Los Angeles in June of that year and began his meteoric rise to stardom. The exuberant outfielder has both captivated the Dodgers fan base and drew the ire of opponents with his style of play that can be traced back to Puig being a fun-loving child at heart.

Puig sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Antonietta Collins to chronicle his early days as a baseball athlete and he briefly touched on public perception that’s been derived from published interviews and commentary.

The 24 year old joked the “real Yasiel Puig” is what newspapers have written him out to be, while adding in the next breath he doesn’t read said articles. Puig also calls himself a normal person who enjoys having fun with his teammates and being generous to others because you never know what lies ahead.