We’ve all seen it, at least those of us who have taken the time to look for it. Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig has finally grown into the baseball player that we all hoped he would one day become; except for the Puig haters, of course.

Oh sure, the 26-year-old Cienfuegos, Cuba native still has his moments, but that’s just Puig being Puig in the same way that Manny (Ramirez) was just being Manny and, quite frankly, it makes for fun viewing. In fact, new Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis said it best: “You just can’t take your eyes off of Puig.” – and he’s right. If you do, you will undoubtedly miss something either incredibly brilliant or something incredibly foolish. And by all accounts, the foolishness has subsided significantly.

Yes, Puig still has his moments, such as when Mets first baseman Wilmer Flores tried to provoke the 6′-2″ / 240-pound Dodger outfielder for pimping a monster 413-foot home run that landed halfway up the Left Field Pavilion last Wednesday.

The irony is after the inning, Mets outfielder and fellow Cuban Yoenis Cespedes – a very notorious home run pimper – was observed counseling Puig about taking too long to round the bases after his blast.

“After I talked to Cespedes, he told me, `Try to run a little bit faster,’ and tried to give me some advice,” Puig told reporters, after the game. “I don’t look at it that way, but it is what it is.”

Puig being Puig.

But during Saturday night’s game against the now third-place Colorado Rockies (sorry, I just had to get that in), Puig did something that, for the most part, went completely unnoticed by many watching the game; something that is absolute proof that the guy who Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully dubbed “The Wild Horse” for his often foolish base running blunders has become – or at least is becoming – an accomplished base runner.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and following a Yasmani Grandal double, Puig singled to Colorado Rockies left fielder Ian Desmond, a nine-year MLB veteran. Because Grandal is not the most fleet of foot, Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward wisely held him up at third base. Seeing this, Desmond lobbed his throw back into the infield. Seeing this, Puig immediately broke for second base and made it standing up without a throw.

While Ian Desmond’s eephus-like throw back into the infield on Yasiel Puig’s seventh-inning single was not a technical error in the box score, it was a huge mental error that allowed Puig to easily advance to second base to put runners at second and third with one out. Desmond was extremely fortunate that Rockies right-hander Scott Oberg was able to retire the side without either runner scoring.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

Puig alertly took second base on Desmond’s poor throw.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

Although Grandal and Puig were left stranded on base, Desmond’s brain fart prompted several interesting – if not humorous – posts on Twitter.

Of concern, for the past two games Puig appears to be dealing with some type of left hamstring or left knee discomfort. And although Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has not yet removed his star right fielder from play, one has to believe that he will give Puig a day or two off in the very near future, perhaps as early as Sunday afternoon in the series finale against the Rockies.

But regardless, it is refreshing to see a much more mature and refined Yasiel Puig in the Dodgers lineup (nearly) every day as opposed to “The Wild Horse” Yasiel Puig. That said, it is still a good idea not to take your eyes off of him. If you do, you will probably miss something either incredibly brilliant or incredibly foolish.

My money is on brilliant.