Yasiel Puig Dresses Like a Cheerleader, Sends Video to New Bestie Jared Goff

#puigyourcheeleader #goDodgers #goRams @JaredGoff16 pic.twitter.com/naD7vkz78M
— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) September 11, 2016

Apparently willing to do anything in order to get back in everyone's good graces, slugger Yasiel Puig joined Dodgers rookies Sunday in dressing like a female cheerleader, even taking the extra step of making a short video of encouragement and addressing it to Los Angeles Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff.

The Rams re-debut as a Los Angeles-based team Monday night and Goff, while a backup for now, is expected to be the team's starting quarterback someday soon. He's also a new friend of Puig's, after at one time being a public questioner of Puig's behavior and motives (pretty much like everyone else). Puig has been on a season-long public-relations mea culpa, which included a recent trip to the minor leagues, reportedly designed to help him with his social skills. His performance at the plate also has needed some rehabilitation, though he has been injured from time to time.

Puig hasn't been a rookie since 2013, so he was exempt from any peer pressure to dress up this time, but he must have insisted because, well, there he is in uniform.

But what if some don't like it that hot?

Can we do some #realtalk for a moment? Not all, but many major league teams perform the ritual every September of making (or "making") their rookie players dress up in so-called humiliating costumes and parading them through ballparks, airports, newspapers and now the internet. It should be noted that players on some teams don't like to see this done because it comes off as childish, even misogynistic or homophobic (depending on the costume). Remember: neither the Dodgers nor any other MLB team even have cheerleaders. Plus there's the whole hazing angle, which might set a bad example for kids. Not to be a Debbie Downer about it.

OK, #realtalk is over.

So, how is Puig performing? He's been better lately, but his overall results are still mediocre at best. Puig has been in a clear decline (at least at the plate) since he broke into the majors with a .925 OPS. Perhaps he's trying to recapture that rookie magic by dressing up like one.