It feels very weird to “grandfather” a bat in. That same privilege, obviously, didn’t apply to Maldonado, who debuted in 2011. But because Pujols had been using them since before they were banned, a grandfather rule allowed him to continue using them. Verducci reported on the broadcast that the model of bats Pujols used had been banned in 2010. Maldonado used them in Game 1, a 1-for-3 performance (which included an RBI single) in Houston’s 6-5 loss.īut there’s a catch: The bats were illegal.

Maldonado had reached out to Pujols prior to the Fall Classic and asked for a few of his bats, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, and Pujols obliged by sending a half-dozen his way. Three weeks after they ended his career in the Wild Card Series, Albert Pujols is still making the news as it pertains to the Phillies’ playoff run.ĭuring Game 2 of the World Series, Tom Verducci revealed on the FOX broadcast that Astros catcher Martín Maldonado used a new set of bats during Game 1 - bats gifted to him by the newly retired and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.

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