Before Yasiel Puig made the treacherous journey from Cuba to the U.S. and signed with the L.A. Dodgers in 2012 the uber-talented outfielder starred for the Elefantes de Cienfuegos of the Cuban National Series. The city of Cienfuegos in Spanish means “one hundred fires”—fitting for the level of passion and explosiveness with which Puig plays. Whether he’s chasing down extra base hits in the gap or throwing out baserunners with his cannon right arm “Wild Horse”—as Vin Scully so eloquently dubbed him—exemplifies the showmanship that many Cuban ballplayers bring with them to the Majors from their homeland where the game is played with so much joy and so few unwritten rules.

Offered here is a rare Cienfuegos game-worn jersey donned by Puig in 2010-11 just prior defecting. It was sourced from Puig’s stepfather in Cuba and brought to the U.S. by a Cuban National journalist. The green mesh button-down jersey with black sleeves has the team name on the front in black-on-white suede cursive lettering. Manufacturer tagging is not present; there is a size 36 tag on the interior. “PUIG” with his No. “14” adorns the back in the same suede color scheme. The left sleeve has a patch (blue teeth closing on a fishing lure) that matches online photos to the 2010-11 season. We found a photo online that could be a match based on the style. There are very few photos available from the Cuban National Series. The jersey shows significant wear with heavy fraying and puckering.

With Cienfuegos during the 2010-11 season Puig batted .330 with 17 home runs 78 runs scored and 47 RBI in 89 games. His OPS was over 1.000. He debuted with the Dodgers on June 2 2013 and made an instant splash with 4 HR and 10 RBI in his very first week to win NL Player of the Week honors. He batted .319 with 19 homers over 104 games as a rookie helping the Dodgers win the NL West Division crown. This past season he hit a career-high 28 homers.

Includes letter of provenance from consignor who wishes to remain anonymous online.