This past spring, baseball fans around the country were infatuated with “Puig-Mania.” As soon as he was brought up to the majors, Yasiel Puig made a sudden impact on the dead-in-the-water Dodgers. Los Angeles, the team that had been declared “World Series bound or Bust” following a busy offseason, inhabited last place in a weak division as late as June. At one point, they were 9.5 games behind the lead. Now they are 10.5 games ahead in the west division. Contrary to media hype, the Dodgers’ resurrection is not the work of Puig alone. The true, unsung hero to the extended hot streak is shortstop Hanley Ramirez.
I do not intend to degrade Puig’s incredible rookie performance. The 22-year-old Cuban defector is the second coming of the perfect athlete that was Bo Jackson. His strong arm and speed, combined with the ability to hit for a high average and flash of the leather, make Puig a five-tooled, once in a generation talent.
Once considered one of the best players in the game, Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers midseason in 2012 when the Marlins considered him an expendable commodity. Ramirez suffered an injury to the hand during the championship game of the World Baseball Classic, and did not play for the Dodgers this season until April 29. After just three games played, Hanley was reinjured and stayed inactive until June 4, the day after Puig made his debut.
During last Thursday’s game, the 29-year-old shortstop injured himself again, this time with a hamstring strain. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly knows he can return soon, but feels no need to hurry the recovering process with the NL West all but locked up.
Ramirez will be back in uniform before the conclusion of the regular season, but will not be eligible to win the batting title due to not enough at-bats. However, when the Dodgers are in need of a clutch hit in the postseason, they should look to the veteran Ramirez and not the rookie Puig to deliver.
Ramirez played well and was clutch at the dish while the Dodgers climbed in the standings. Since June 3, Los Angeles has won 60 of the 83 games it played, for a winning percentage of .723 during that stretch. Puig garnered most of the media’s attention for his on-field spectacles and his divisive attitude. The right fielder has a batting average of .337, 16 home runs and 37 runs batted in, terrific numbers for a Rookie of the Year candidate. Hanley’s average, however, is five points higher; he has homered twice more and has driven in 16 more runs than his teammate, despite playing fewer games. Meanwhile, the three time All-Star put up an impressive triple slash line (BA/OBP/Slugging Percentage) of .342/.390/.634 in just 79 games played.
It is no surprise that Puig’s presence has a large impact on Los Angeles, which has had two of its Opening Day outfielders struggle with injuries this season. When it comes down to the facts, though, his greatest contribution to the team may have been deflecting the media’s attention away from its poor start. Credit is also due to Clayton Kershaw and Adrian Gonzalez, who improved their performances when Ramirez joined the lineup.
Adding Ramirez to the team has proven to be the catalyst needed for the Dodgers to meet their lofty expectations. The star shortstop provided more to Los Angeles’ success than has been reported because of the massive hype of “Puig-Mania”. Then again, “Ramirez-Mania” doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily.
