Yasiel Puig slams helmet, catches helmet, is not human
Puig’s gonna Puig.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
It is difficult to imagine being Yasiel Puig. Not just because of his outlandish talent, and not just because of his impossibly difficult and dangerous route to stateside stardom, although obviously yes and yes on both of those.
There is all that, but then there is also the baffling reality of being Yasiel Puig, thrower of baseballs and launcher of home runs and vex-er of crustoid sportswriters. That is who he is, and those are the things he does, but knowing all this is different from really comprehending it.
Because also there is the thing that Puig does in the GIF above. You have probably watched it a few times, now. Watch it again, and then imagine doing what Yasiel Puig does in that GIF. Imagine doing it without looking surprised to have done it, let alone running around hunting for high-fives after and demanding that everyone call you Professor Helmetcatch Von Reflex. Now think about how ordinary this sort of thing is for Yasiel Puig.
Just two innings later, Puig pulled off this feat, fielding a ground ball to the right center field gap between his legs then throwing back to the infield to keep the runner at first base:
In conclusion, it is difficult to imagine being Yasiel Puig.
GIF via Chad Moriyama.
