Yasiel Puig Says He Won't Be Flipping His Bat As Much

GIFs are the backbone of our modern, pageview-driven economy. They exist in the ether of the Internet, often no more than a Google search away. There isn’t, however, an official GIF Hall of Fame or anything of that ilk. If there were, Yasiel Puig would certainly have a few potential entrants.

The burgeoning bat flip wing of the Puig GIF Hall of Fame might be closing soon, though, if this report from the Los Angeles Times Dylan Hernandez counts for anything. Puig says he will cut down on bat flips because, “I want to show American baseball that I’m not disrespecting the game.”

Chalk one up for the unwritten rules committee. Let’s guess Brian McCann is quietly doing a “leadership” fist pump to celebrate Puig’s decision.

There’s really not any new ground to break here. Either you like it when baseball players celebrate with a little emotion, such as the occasional bat flip or you think it’s affront to everything that is holy within the National Pastime. Like so many topics, there’s no middle ground. In the grand scheme of things a bat flip or a player staring to admire a home run or taking a slow trot around the bases isn’t that big of a deal — yet it always becomes a talking point at some point. The best way to prevent it, as always, remains the pitcher getting the batter out.

Fortunately, flipping the bat is about the 27th most-exciting thing Puig can do on a baseball field. Puig told Hernandez that he will still probably flip the bat on occasion:

"“If it’s a big home run or if I’m frustrated because I couldn’t connect in my previous at-bats or if I drive in important runs for my team, I might do it,” he said. “You never know. I can’t say I won’t do it.”"

Good. We need to add some Puig bat flips to our GIF library.

[H/T HBT]