Puig explains bat-licking habits: 'I make love to the bat'

If you've yet to be initiated into the Yasiel Puig school of baseball fun, brace yourself because it's headed to the biggest stage there is.

Yes, the crazy, fun-loving Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder is headed to the World Series, where he'll no doubt make waves for things like shimmying on the bases, wagging his tongue, and licking his bats.

That last habit is a new one, but when Puig planted one on his lumber mid-at-bat during the NLCS, it created more than a few headlines around the baseball world. What is he doing? Where in the world did this habit come from? Isn't he afraid of getting splinters in his tongue?

On Thursday night inside a jubilant Wrigley Field visitor's clubhouse after the Dodgers clinched the National League pennant, Puig finally shed some light on how he came to this strange practice of licking his bats.

"I make love to the bat and he pays me back with hits," Puig told James Fegan of The Athletic.

Well, there you have it. Yasiel Puig is, indeed, a modern-day Pedro Cerrano.

One tip, Yasiel: if you decide to channel Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn and take your bats to bed with you, keep that information to yourself.