The Yasiel Puig Era in Cincinnati Ends with a Brawl

The Wild Horse has No Love for Pittsburgh.

Sam Greene

Talk about going out with a bang. The Puig era in Cincinnati was brief, with 404 plate appearances over 91 games, but we will never forget his final game.

Tension began building when Pittsburgh’s Keone Kela threw up-and-in to Derek Dietrich in the 7th. After the inning, Joey Votto walked toward the Pirates dugout and exchanged words with Kela, and plate umpire Larry Vanover came between the two.

Beginning in the 8th, Reds manager David Bell was ejected for arguing a strike call with Puig at bat. Reds receiver Jarder Hughes was later ejected in the 9th for hitting Starling Marte with his first pitch.

Bad blood boiled over.

Just as the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians agreed to a deal involving Trevor Bauer and Yasiel Puig, a massive, bench clearing brawl erupted at Great American Ball Park. Amir Garrett stormed off of the mound and swung a punch at Pirates Pitcher Trevor Williams.

Amir Garrett vs the ENTIRE Pirates team

Posted by Joey Votto on Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Puig threw himself in the middle.

Bell was among the first Reds to join the brawl and had to be separated from Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. He later helped restrain Puig, who reignited the clash with more shoving and shouting.

The Pirates Need a Culture Check.

Bell alludes that the Pirates seem to be involved in more commotion than any other team in MLB. At some point, Pittsburgh needs a culture check. If management fails to take action, someone is going to get hurt. That, or we’re going to continue to see ballplayers behaving poorly every few weeks.

Puig is a treasure and will be missed.

We’ll miss you, Puig. You’re always welcome back in Cincinnati.

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