On the field, it was just another baseball season for Cuba-born outfielder Yasiel Puig.
A power-hitter wherever he goes, Puig set a new single-season home run record in the Canadian Baseball League, clubbing 24 homers in 46 games with the league's Toronto Maple Leafs. He also led the league in on-base percentage with a .522 mark, finished second in batting average with a .410 mark, RBIs with 57, and walks with 35 in the CBL's first season as a fully professional league.
The previous home run mark was set by the Leafs' Sean Reilly in 2013, when Reilly clubbed 21 dingers in 42 games for Toronto in what was then known as the Intercounty Baseball League.
Off the field, Puig's legal sagas continue to drag on.
The outfielder is awaiting sentencing in a federal criminal case in Los Angeles where he was convicted by a jury on one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice in February.
Judge Dolly M. Gee of the United States District Court for the Central District of California postponed a July 28 sentencing hearing while the court reviews Puig's motion for acquittal. In advance of the sentencing, the court has asked that Puig share his Toronto Maple Leafs contract with the prosecution, and that the contract be filed under seal with the court.
Puig's agent, Lisette Carnet, previously told the court in a declaration that the criminal case has made it difficult for the former Major Leaguer to earn a living, noting that he is playing for far less money with the Toronto Maple Leafs than he would have made had he been able to secure a contract to play for a team in Mexico or South Korea.
A new sentencing date in the criminal case has yet to be set.
Puig's difficulty in securing work as a professional baseball player, as well as the ongoing criminal case, has put the outfielder in dire financial straits. Despite earning more than $52 million as a professional baseball player, the former Los Angeles Dodger filed for bankruptcy in Florida this summer, citing assets of $1,691,285.83 and liabilities of $9,446,357.32.
His bankruptcy case, filed in the Southern District of Florida, was dismissed on Aug. 27 after the outfielder failed to file a certification that he underwent credit counseling. The certificate was filed on Aug. 28, and Puig's attorneys are trying to get his bankruptcy case reinstated.