While talking to a group of 4-year-olds as part of his anti-bullying project, Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell told the kids that rookie sensation Yasiel Puig was bullied in his debut Major League season. The Los Angeles Times recaps:

Howell said he saw Yasiel Puig bullied in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, though he would not discuss who was involved, or what happened to Puig. “The guy is such a champion,” Howell said. “He has such a big heart. Sometimes he acts like a jerk, but that is his defense mechanism. It’s not really him.”

Earlier this week, MLB commissioner Bud Selig said he was “proud” of baseball players’ behavior in light of the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal.

Without knowing more specifics of the Dodgers’ situation, it’s hard to say whether what Puig was subjected to was harmless clubhouse buffoonery or something more hurtful. Given Puig’s occasional on-field indiscretions and baseball’s frequent self-policing of the so-called unwritten rules, it could be that some well-intentioned veterans thought they’d help the young player with a dose of humility.

Due to the 162-game season and the constant travel, baseball players spend more time together than athletes in any other major sport. And it’s a pretty safe bet that if you gather any group of 25 people — the size of an MLB roster — at least one of them is going to be a jerk. So for all we know, maybe Puig was unfairly targeted for whatever reason (envy seems likely).

Or maybe whatever Howell saw was merely an unfortunate part of day-to-day human interaction, and he cited Puig as an example because he was trying to teach 4-year-olds that anyone could be bullied and Puig was the only Dodger player most 4-year-olds could identify.

In either case, baseball players: Be cool to Yasiel Puig. For one thing, it’s plain human decency. Also, he’s awesome at baseball and most fans love watching him play. And from a purely practical standpoint, he’s 6’3″ and 245 pounds of muscle and just not at all the type of dude you want to be in the business of bothering.

Check out photos of Yasiel Puig being awesome below …