Earlier this season, with Troy Tulowitzki looking like Honus Wagner but his team looking like the pre-Leak Bad News Bears, I wondered if Yasiel Puig might wind up getting some MVP love. Granted, that was back in June when Puig sported a four-digit OPS. Then he slumped for a few weeks, was great for a stretch after the All-Star break, then settled down again.
His current .293/.382/.477 line remains excellent in this pitcher's era, but his 13 homers and 60 RBI just aren't the stuff of award dreams. Puig would also suffer by comparison to teammate Clayton Kershaw, now probably the No. 1 MVP candidate.
Granted, this sort of thing wouldn't help, either:
That's two lousy throws on one play, and of course Puig's hardly a stranger to such misadventures, whether afield or on the bases. And the numbers aren't good, either. While Puig is fast and strong-armed, he's not an effective baserunner or outfielder. He's incredibly exciting, and of course he's an outstanding hitter. But I don't believe he'll get a great deal of respect from award voters until he quits making so many obvious mistakes.
p.s. My favorite part of the video comes after all the damage, when Kershaw just flips the ball into the air. So bemused, the ace!
CORRECTION: As a reader points out, the second throwing error was actually Hanley Ramirez's, not Puig's. I hope my general point stands.
