Rich Puig

Who is Rich Puig?

Richard Gerald Puig is a former Major League Baseball player. The second baseman's major league career spanned four games for the New York Mets in 1974. He was selected fourteenth overall in the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft by the Mets, one spot ahead of future Hall of Famer Jim Rice.

Puig was attending Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida when he was drafted. Upon graduation, he joined their Appalachian League affiliate in Marion, Virginia, where he batted .217 with three home runs and thirteen runs batted in. Though he was drafted primarily for his glove, he displayed sloppy defense, committing seventeen errors.

He spent four seasons in the Mets' farm system, batting .251 with 27 home runs and 132 RBIs, when he received a September call up to New York in 1974. In eleven plate appearances, he drew one walk. He also committed one error on the field.

He began the 1975 season with the Mets' triple A affiliate, the Tidewater Tides, but was released mid-season with a .182 batting average, no home runs and three RBIs. He caught on with the Chicago White Sox shortly afterwards, and remained in their organization through 1976 before retiring.