Yasiel Puig to face fine if he wears Vin Scully cleats again
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig wore cool Vin Scully tribute cleats recently, but MLB has warned him that a fine is coming if he wears them again.
The uniform police are prevalent in pro sports, particularly in the NFL as they regularly levy fines against players that wear the wrong color shoes or otherwise add unwelcome personality to their on-field garb.
MLB has joined in. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reported that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has been warned that he could face a $5,000 fine if he wears his Vin Scully tribute cleats again.
Puig unveiled the cleats for a July 17 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here’s a look if you missed them the first time:
These Vin Scully cleats are 😍. pic.twitter.com/TQ3Im1NJ4e
— MLB (@MLB) July 17, 2016
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While the cleats are technically a uniform violation, Puig has not received any warnings for his similarly extravagant cleat choices in the past. On July 4, the outfielder wore “star-spangled” cleats that apparently went unnoticed by the league office. After this warning though, Puig’s plan to wear Statue of Liberty-themed footwear when the Dodgers visit Yankee Stadium to take on the New York Yankees in September must now surely be reassessed.
Allowing Puig to wear his Vin Scully tribute cleats more than once without penalty may set a bad precedent, with other players looking to wear custom cleats as part of a tribute. But with Scully in his final season broadcasting Dodgers’ games, any reasonable tribute should be a welcome exception, and the MLB office looks like the fun police in this situation.