Whether it’s on the field or off, Dodgers superstar outfielder Yasiel Puig continues to prove that he is his own worst enemy. If he’s not showing up late to the clubhouse forcing manager Don Mattingly to bench him (and rightfully so), he’s running into walls, or worse – he’s making head first slides into first base when there is absolutely no reason to do so.

It didn’t take Dodger fans very long to realize that Puig’s head first slide into first base on Saturday afternoon didn’t end well. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Last year Dodgers utility infielder Nick Punto dazzled Dodger fans with his frequent head first slides into first, which were rarely successful. But as ridiculous (and dangerous) as they were, Punto has been doing this since high school and knows how to do it right – if there is such a thing. But Puig being Puig, he doesn’t know when to put on the brakes and on Saturday afternoon, he tried a head first slide into first base and slid right over the bag jamming his right thumb in the process.

Although Puig was safe, it had nothing to do with his head first slide – he was safe because the throw from Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford pulled first baseman Brandon Belt off of the bag. The play was ruled an infield single and there is no doubt that it still would have been an infield single even if Puig had simply run through the bag.

“I felt OK to play nine innings, that’s what I wanted to do,” Puig told reporters after the game. “I got treatment today and we’ll see the results and how I feel and they’ll check to see if I can play tomorrow [Sunday].”

While Puig may be trying downplaying the seriousness of his jammed thumb, he had it tapped up so that he could finish the game and then had X-rays taken of it after the game. The results of the X-rays have not yet been released, but even if there is nothing broken, a jammed thumb could land the young outfielder on the disabled list. At the very least, with the Dodgers facing Giants right-hander Matt Cain later today, it’s a pretty safe bet that both Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford will be in the starting line-up and if Puig’s injury is serious enough, Matt Kemp or even Scott Van Slyke will probably get the nod over an ‘iffy’ Yasiel Puig.

The good news is that Puig made it to the Dodgers clubhouse early on Saturday morning. In fact, he was there two hours before he was supposed to be there.

Now, if we can only get him to stop this head first sliding into first base nonsense.