Report: Yasiel Puig Buys Helicopter With Kobe Bryant
Yasiel Puig has had dreams of buying a helicopter since 2016. He thought that acquiring such a vehicle would help with his tardiness to Dodgers games. You may remember the quote from the pilot he spoke to about buying the chopper:
The calls to Alex Vega started a couple weeks ago. Vega runs a garage that customizes cars in Miami, and he considers Yasiel Puig a loyal client. Puig wanted his advice on upgrading a more unconventional potential purchase: A helicopter.
“His plan is to buy one,” Vega said in a telephone interview.
With the help of Kobe Bryant – some two years later – that plan has come to fruition. Rumors surfaced late Saturday night following the Dodgers first win of the season. Puig was in a particularly jovial mood although he completed the game without getting his first hit of the season.
https://twitter.com/DiamondHoggers/status/980312641762676736
Bryant said Puig made contact with him over the winter about co-owning a Robinson R44 Raven; also known as the world’s most popular helicopter. The price of the luxury travel item is believed to be in excess of $400,000.
Previously, Puig’s hinderance in acquiring a helicopter was that his employer had no place to land the bird. When Puig spoke to Bryant over the winter, he solved that problem.
“He wants to buy this thing, and I’m like laughing at first. He said ‘no amigo, I am dead serious. I need this’. So I’m like wow, okay. I figured then at that point if he wants this it would be a cool thing you know for fans and for attracting interest to a Los Angeles team. So I bought a helicopter landing pad about five minutes from Dodger Stadium. This was done privately under an alias; so no one would know the plan. So yes, we just needed to decide on the chopper at that point. Of course he’s always had one in mind.”
The plan for now is for Puig to fly in full uniform and land the chopper five minutes from the stadium. He then said he would use a service like Uber or Lyft to complete the destination for all home games. It will be interesting to see if this creates any type of distraction amongst many of his teammates. Teammates like Clayton Kershaw have mentioned that Puig was a distraction in the past. This isn’t something that is looked fondly upon when the team is trying to get back to the World Series.
Turning the Calendar to April
Yasiel Puig is going to be Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers complete their series with the Giants on Sunday evening. They then leave on a road trip to Arizona and San Francisco. It will be interesting to see if these reports take off (no pun) and a pilot emerges that will be flying Puig to every home game. I find it interesting that he’s going to be in full uniform for each flight – but would he have it any other way? Shine on you crazy diamond.
Happy April Fools Day, y’all.
This report should have been titled, “When Puigs Fly.”
This report should have been titled, “When Puigs Fly.”
But why does he have to be in full uniform ??