It’s tough to keep up with every single rule change in the league, especially the ones regarding equipment.Īstros’ Martin Maldonado made an honest mistake with the illegal batsĪccording to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, “A player may use a maple bat, but it has to meet MLB standards for slope of grain, among other items, the official said.” Pujols got the bat grandfathered in since he made his debut in 2001, far before the rule, and was already accustomed to his bats. Maldonado and Pujols played together on the Los Angeles Angels in 20, and Pujols was able to use those bats throughout his entire career due to joining the league before 2011. The Astros have a bad reputation, but this just seems like an honest mistake. Pujols is a legend, who wouldn’t want to use his bats?

Maldonado believes the Pujols always got some of the best quality of bats because of his stature. Martin Maldonado reached out to Albert Pujols before the start of the World Series and asked Pujols to send him some bats - and today, a half-dozen arrived from the future HOFer.

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