Yasiel Puig seemed to have no fear of showing Cleveland Indians fans exactly how he felt about them in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 7-5 victory at Progressive Field on Tuesday night.
After crossing home plate following his second-inning home run, Puig raised both his hands and showed the home crowd supporters his middle fingers.
The 26-year-old Cuban-born right-fielder’s homer, his tenth of the season, gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
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Puig claimed he was heckled in the on-desk circle, which is located directly in front of the dugout suite seats found on field level at Progressive Field. He was then booed for the rest of the game.
“People were talking to me before the home run, and they talked to me after the home run,” he said through a translator when asked if he regretted his reaction to fans’ heckling. “I reacted that way. I stooped to their level. It happened suddenly. It came out. There’s nothing I can do about it. There were about four of them. They were pretty close there.”
Here’s the homer Puig scored before his obscene gesture:
When asked if he believed he would be fined by Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder said he would take it in stride, knowing full well there isn’t much he would be able to do about it.
“I can’t not pay it,” he said. “[The video is] everywhere. I know I did it. What can we do about it now?”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was unabashedly facetious when asked if he noticed Puig’s gesture. “Are you sure it wasn’t No. 1 he was signaling?” Roberts asked jokingly.
CBSSports.com’s Matt Snyder says it remains unclear whether Puig will be suspended.
Puig went 2 for 4 with a strikeout on Tuesday. The outfielder has had a very uninteresting season: he was sent to the minor leagues last year after he was not traded at the deadline. Puig said his time in the minors taught him humility.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Tyler Collins quickly flipped off fans who were booing him last year but was not banned. On the other hand relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon — who was released by the Washington Nationals in August 2016 — was suspended seven games for a different obscene gesture. Papelbon grabbed his crotch and aiming it at the crowd as a player for the Philadelphia Phillies in a game against the Miami Marlins in September 2014.
The Dodgers (40-25, 1st in NL West) have won five straight games and will face the Indians (31-30, 2nd in AL Central) again on Wednesday night for the second game of a three-game series.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 22: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his inside the park homerun to win the game 4-3 over the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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