How Yasiel Puig In 2013 Reminds Me Of Miguel Cabrera In 2003

Yasiel Puig has provided an instant boost to the morale of the Dodgers since he set foot inside the Dodger clubhouse. They were struggling at the beginning of June at 24-32 with the season slowly but surely going down the tubes- enter Yasiel Puig and fast forward about a month and a half later and the Dodgers now sit atop the NL West division at 53-47 a lot of the Dodgers turnaround could be attributed to the energy that Puig has brought to the line up. It has made players around him start playing better and the Dodgers look like the team people expected before the season started. Now I have seen this same type of energy and impact before and it happened to come in the form of Miguel Cabrera 10 years ago back in 2003 for the world champion Florida Marlins.

Although Puig now and Cabrera then are 2 different kind of players the energy and impact both of them brought to their respective ball clubs is vastly similar. Puig on June 3^rd made his major league debut vs the San Diego Padres for a struggling Dodgers team at 24-32 lingering towards the bottom of the NL West. Puig went 2-4 and had an outfield assists to end the game on a double play resulting in a Dodgers win. Miguel Cabrera on June 20^th 2003 got his 1^st start in the big leagues although the production of that game isn't as great as Puig's what he did produce matches Yasiel. Cabrera went 1-5 in that game but that 1 hit which was his 1^st in what is now a great major league career was a walk off home run in the 11^th inning off of Al Levine which gave the Marlins a 3-1 win over the Devil Rays. From that point forward the Marlins looked like an entirely different ball club. They played a lot looser and with a lot more energy and after May 23^rd 2003 the Marlins compiled a 72-42 record which was best in baseball and led them to a 91-71 finish and a wild card berth which ultimately led them to a World Series championship over the New York Yankees. Cabrera had a lot to do with the Marlins great production after May 23^rd. Puig Like Cabrera in 03 has been a huge reason that the Dodgers since his arrival on June 3^rd are 30-15 up to this point.

Puig and Cabrera like I said earlier are much different players and Puig right now at 22 is 2 years older than Cabrera in 2003 he was 20. The energy they both brought to the teams they played for are very alike in my eyes. The only question now is if the Dodgers make the playoffs will the Impact that Puig has had here in 2013 wind up in resulting in the same way as Cabrera in 2003 when the Marlins won the world series?? I guess only time will tell.

Five Random Cards #1

Recently I Got a PWE from my main man Kevin from “The Diamond King” as part of graduating from high school. I also completed a trade with my man Dustin from Cootveal and Vealtones so they're are cards all around my house. So I decided to start a new series of posts called “5 random cards” where I will randomly grab 5 cards and just put them in a blog post. So here we go.

Card #1 Score 1991 Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. in 1991 was in the process of starting one of the greatest careers in baseball history in his 3^rd season in the show hit 327. banged out 22 home runs along with 100 RBI's. Griffey was on his way to becoming one of the most feared players in the game along with collecting his 2^nd gold glove and silver slugger awards in 1991.

Card #2 Topps Gold Label 1999 Cliff Floyd

Going to my 1^st Marlins game in the same year this card was manufactured I got a chance to see Cliff Floyd live in person and he was a big guy 6 foot 5 inches tall along with 220 pounds and a vicious left handed swing. Cliff never became the star that most people thought he had potential to be but still put together is fair share of nice seasons. Like in 2001 where he hit 317. along with 31 home runs and 103 RBI's earning the only All-Star appearance of his career.

Card #3 Fleer 1990 Eddie Murray

Eddie Murray had a long 21 year career many his best years with the Baltimore Orioles. People forget though he had some solid years in LA with the Dodgers. In 1990 the same year as this card Eddie hit 330. with 26 home runs and 95 RBI's which earned him a silver slugger that year. So remember Eddie as an Oriole but don't forget the Dodger version either he was pretty good.

Card #4 Topps 1994 Jeff Conine

In 1994 Jeff Conine had already earned the “Mr.Marlin” mantle and wore it proudly playing the game the right way. Conine was apart of both Marlins World Championship teams in 1997 and 2003 . In 1994 though he earned his 1^st of 2 all-star appearances and hit 319. that season which was the highest of any season in his career.

Card #5 Upperdeck SPX 2002 Juan Encarnacion

Not the best player on the 2003 world championship team but certainly an overlooked part of it. People like to focus on Miguel Cabrera, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and many others but Juan Encarnacion was a very valuable piece. In 2003 he had a career year when in 2003 hit 270. with 19 Home runs and 94 RBI's. He was also solid on defense with a perfect 1.000 in 156 games he played and didn't win the gold glove that year.