Don't worry, Yasiel Puig fans. It happens to everyone.
Manager benches hot shot young star!
Manager says “He’s confused, hitting poorly, and fielding badly.”
Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
From June 1955:
Willie Mays, the kid who had a lot to say in making the New York Giants the 1954 world champions, was bench material as the feebler 1955 version of the Giants left town last night, stinging from a three-game beating by the Milwaukee Braves.
New York manager Leo Durocher ... benched Mays yesterday for the first time in Mays' baseball career.
Durocher’s reasons for the benching sound a bit familiar:
“He isn’t helping the club.” Durocher said of his centerfielder. “He isn’t hitting and he’s and running bases badly. Maybe he needs a rest and it certainly won’t hurt him.”
Mays was the National League MVP in 1954 at the age of 23. He was hitting .279 (with a .954 OPS) at the time of the break. Following the two game rest, Mays continued to slump before bottoming out with a .267 batting average a week later.
Even so, Mays batted .345/.418/.709 with a 1.127 OPS over the remaining 91 games of the season. Maybe he was just really, really good.
See More:
