Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig put himself in rarefied baseball company after his first month in baseball. In fact, only the Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio accomplished what Puig did in his first month in the Majors.
Puig has dazzled the baseball world and even left Vin Scully speechless. He has stolen a base and hit a home run in the same game. He has also bunted and rocketed home runs. He has stayed in the game after getting beaned in the nose and when he ran dangerously into the right field wall, Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly assured reporters that the wall was just fine. There is even a serious campaign to get the Cuban defector to make the All-Star game as a write-in selection.
Since he debuted on June 3, Puig, as ESPN notes, “leads the majors with 44 hits in that span and the National League “with a .436 batting average and a .467 on-base percentage.” In addition, “Puig is also ranked in the top three in home runs (seven), runs (19), slugging percentage (.713) and total bases (72).”
But this may be his most stunning accomplishment:
Puig and DiMaggio are the only players in major league history with at least 40 hits and four home runs in their first calendar month in the majors. Puig’s 44 hits in June are second only to DiMaggio’s 48 in 1936, and are the most hits ever in one month by a Dodgers rookie.
Before the season, Breitbart Sports, after seeing Puig play in Spring Training games, observed that his potential seemed “limitless” should he be called up to the big leagues. He has not disappointed, and on Sunday, in addition to having his first four-hit game to lead the Dodgers to a win over the Phillies, Puig finally checked off another thing off his list of feats.
He also got his first triple.
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