Former MLB All-Star Yasiel Puig was at the forefront of a huge brawl in a Venezuelan Winter League game. The shocking images took place on Wednesday night, at the conclusion of a game between local teams Navegantes de Magallanes and Tiburones de La Guaira.
The Cuban-born Puig, who spent six seasons on the LA Dodgers and last played in the MLB 2019, has been involved in a handful of brawls throughout his Major League Baseball playing days and he was one of the clear protagonists of this latest Venezuelan league scuffle. The 33-year-old can in fact be seen delivering punches and even receiving a vicious blow to the face.
While it isn’t clear what started the fight, the benches cleared and many punches were thrown by home plate. Bystanders in the stands were even holding onto the netting, in an attempt to make sure the brawl didn’t continue into the spectator’s area.
Puig has a long history of fights stemming from his MLB days
Fights were one of the big issues with Puig in his MLB days and one of the reasons he is no longer in the league. During his days in the United States, he served several multi-game suspensions with the Dodgers, Reds and Indians due to bench-clearing brawls.
Even if an MLB team were interested in him, Puig is barred for life from Major League Baseball after pleading guilty in 2022 for lying to federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation.