Los Angeles Dodgers phenom outfielder Yasiel Puig was arrested in Collier County on Saturday morning after Florida Highway Patrol troopers reported clocking his white Mercedes at 110 mph on Alligator Alley.
The 23-year-old Major League Baseball star was traveling west in a 70 mph zone near the 99 mile marker of Interstate 75 when he was arrested on a reckless driving charge and booked into the Collier County jail. He was also cited for driving without proof of insurance.
Puig was released from the Collier County jail on a $500 'self cash bond' at about 1 p.m., a jailer said.
He was cooperative with troopers during the traffic stop, said Lt. Greg Bueno, an FHP spokesman. He had three passengers in his vehicle; two relatives and a friend, who Bueno said is 'no one of any celebrity status.'
'Alligator Alley is a rural road that is more wide open than other places,' Bueno said. 'We do tend to see higher excessive speed amounts out there.'
Records show Puig bought a home in Miami's Rockdale Estates in November 2012 for $1.5 million.
Reached by phone Saturday, Lon Rosen, chief marketing officer for the Dodgers, said he was not aware of the arrest and could not comment on it. Attempts to reach Puig's agent, Jaime Torres, for comment were unsuccessful.
The arrest marked the second time this year Puig has gotten into trouble on the highway. While playing in the minors for the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate in Chattanooga, Tenn., Puig was arrested in April and charged with speeding, reckless driving, and driving without proof of insurance. The charges were dropped in November.
'I think he'll be just fine, as long as he learns from everything that's happened to him,' said Tommy Watkins, a Fort Myers-Riverdale graduate who played two years with the Fort Myers Miracle before a brief stint with the Minnesota Twins in 2007. 'Just like he needs to learn from the mistakes he makes on the field. He's an amazing talent, but he's still very young.'
Puig made his major-league debut on June 3, and became an overnight sensation in Los Angeles by hitting four home runs in his first five games. He finished second to Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez in the National League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .319 with 19 homers and 42 RBIs.
Blessed with blazing speed, mammoth power and a laser of a right arm, Puig showed up all over sports highlights shows throughout the season.
Puig impressed fans, but often irked opponents by violating the unwritten rules of the game.
He was part of a nasty, bench-clearing brawl against the Arizona Diamondbacks in June after being hit in the face with a pitch. He hit a game-winning home run in extra innings against the Cincinnati Reds on July 26 and then slid into home plate. During Game 3 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, Puig belted a long drive to center and stood at the plate admiring his work, thinking he had hit a two-run homer. The ball stayed in the park, and Puig had to hustle into third for a triple.
'As a player, I just think he doesn't know (how to act),' former Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran told ESPN.com at the time.
Ross Gasmer, 23, editor and chief of the fan site Dodgers Nation, said the arrest is a black mark on what had been a great offseason for Puig, who had been ingratiating himself to baseball fans by inviting Little Leaguers to Dodger Stadium and visiting sick children in the hospital.
'Now, with this reckless driving charge, I fear that a lot of that stuff will get shoved to the wayside,' Gasmer said.
The arrest feeds into Puig's controversial image, said Stacie Wheeler, 34, co-editor of the Dodgers' fan site Lasorda's Lair. Even though Puig didn't hurt anyone, it was a mistake he shouldn't have made, especially since he's been arrested on a reckless driving charge before, Wheeler said.
'It's still putting others in danger because it's a public roadway,' she said.
Neither Gasmer nor Wheeler said they expect the arrest to impact Puig's on-field performance.
'I think he's still learning,' Gasmer said. 'It's a process. He's 23 years old. He's been in the U.S. a year, a year and a half. ... I think it will be another way for the Dodgers to teach. I hope he understands that and I hope we don't have to have these conversations again.'
Puig is in no way the first Major League Baseball player to end up in a Southwest Florida jail.
On March 2, Red Sox minor league pitcher Drake Britton was arrested on DUI charges after authorities say he led Lee County sheriff's deputies on a chase at over 100 mph.
On March 23, 2012, then-Boston Red Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks was picked up on a DUI charge while leaving a Fort Myers strip club. The charges were eventually dropped.
A day before Jenks' arrest, Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher Matthew Bush landed behind bars, after running down a motorcycle rider and fleeing the scene in Punta Gorda. He pleaded no contest to driving under the influence with serious bodily injury, and was sentenced to 51 months in prison.
In March 2006, then-Minnesota Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano was arrested on a DUI charge in Cape Coral. He, too, was adjudicated guilty.
Staff writer Katherine Rosenberg contributed to this report.
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Posted by Unknown on Sunday, December 29, 2013 - Rating: 4.5
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