Right Fielder for Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds tours Academy

KINGS POINT, New York, April 30, 2019 – Yasiel Puig, right fielder for the Cincinnati Reds is visiting USMMA this week. Puig is in town with the Reds to play the New York Mets in a four-game stretch at Citi Field, and will be visiting the Academy through Thursday.

“Yasiel is a family friend,” said Superintendent Rear Admiral Jack Buono, from his home at the Academy. “We are always happy to host him when he visits for baseball business, and we are pleased to introduce him to the Regiment of Midshipmen and show him what we do here at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.”

Puig is a Cuban-born Major League Baseball All-Star player who defected to the United States from Cuba in 2012. He debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013. His nickname is "The Wild Horse,” and he is the founder of the Wild Horse Foundation, which aids economically disadvantaged children and families by focusing on helping the community prioritize health and education, according to his Reds biography. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in early Dec. 2018.

During his stay at the Academy, Puig will meet with the USMMA baseball team, which was just named to the 7^th position in the NCAA New York Region ranking. Additionally in the last regular season game this past weekend, USMMA Coach Mike Notebaert earned his 200^th win as head coach.

Additionally, Puig will tour the Academy waterfront and the USMMA training vessels, meet faculty in the Marine Engineering and Marine Transportation departments and will see the American Merchant Marine Museum. He will also meet the Regiment of Midshipmen.