NLCS 2017: Yasiel Puig evokes his inner Babe Ruth with called shot?
Los Angeles Dodger outfield Yasiel Puig is known for his hyped antics on the field. In Game 1 of the NLCS, he points to the outfield, evoking his inner Babe Ruth.
It is one of the biggest stages in baseball, and in one of the league’s best towns as Game 1 of the NLCS opened in Los Angeles tonight. Two storied teams set out to battle, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent Clayton Kershaw to the mound as the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs let Jose Quintana start the game.
In early action, the Cubs hit Kershaw well. Eventually, Albert Almora Jr. would launch a two-run home run to right field off the league’s best pitcher. The Cubs got an early lead, and Quintana held the Dodgers ‘ offense at bay, and the crowd quiet.
That is, until the fifth inning. After a couple of walks, Quintana faced the Sultan of Swag, Yasiel Puig. After seeing strike one pass by, Puig backed out of the box. As he did, he maybe, possibly, almost pointed toward center field. It was an action that mirrored the great Babe Ruth.
Or, maybe he was pulling an arrow out of his holder. Whichever it was, Puig laced a double to the gap in left-center. And it is not something we don’t talk about, right Mike Petriello?
Yasiel Puig did not call his shot but any time we can start talking about "Puig & Babe Ruth" sure, hell, let's do it.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 15, 2017
One runner would score, giving the Dodgers their first run of the game. They would score a second to tie the game in the fifth.
Of course, to further establish his Babe-Ruthian powers, Puig stood at the plate a bit, raising his hands and flipping his bat as if he hit the ball to the parking lot. It was a solid hit, but a home run it was not.
In a battle to go to the World Series, it is an important hit.