The reckless driving charge given to Yasiel Puig stemming from an incident in late December has been dropped, according to a report from TMZ Sports.
Yasiel Puig’s reckless driving charge dropped
The State of Florida determined that Yasiel Puig’s arrest for speeding didn’t warrant a reckless driving charge.
On Dec. 28, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder was arrested by a Florida Highway Patrol officer for reckless driving. Puig was reportedly driving 110 mph on a 70-mph highway in a white Mercedes with his mother, cousin and a friend as passengers in the vehicle. The incident marked the second time Puig had been arrested for reckless driving in 2013, and at the time, Puig's arrest caused a bit of a stir within the media, with a Dodgers spokesman stating the team was "disappointed" in the outfielder's actions.
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Nevertheless, the state has dropped the case against Puig under the rationale that “speeding alone on an open highway doesn’t constitute ‘reckless driving’ and he wasn’t doing anything else to warrant a charge other than ‘speeding.’” If Puig had been convicted, he would have been sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to TMZ.
The 23-year-old experienced a tumultuous first season in the majors, repeatedly finding himself a target of the media and the wider baseball community due to his on-field antics and off-field behavior. On Aug. 20, the Dodgers fined Puig for arriving late to the ballpark prior to the team's game against the Miami Marlins, and the outfielder often clashed with manager Don Mattingly, who benched him on numerous occasions.
Puig excelled on the field, however, hitting .319/.391/.534 with 19 home runs and 42 RBI after the Dodgers called him up from Double-A in early June. The right fielder's performance helped spur the club's remarkable run to the NL West title, even if Puig did struggle in the team's loss to the Cardinals in the NLCS.
The Cuban native will enter his second year in the big leagues in 2014 after receiving a seven-year, $42 million contract last offseason. Despite his off-the-field antics and the highway speeding, there is little doubt that Puig’s future on the baseball diamond is quite bright.
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