How Albert Pujols and Martin Maldonado may have accidentally rocked World Series with 'cheating' scandal
HOUSTON, TEXAS: Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado was reported using an illegal bat in Game 1 (October 28), which was given to him by former St Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols. Maldonado might have unintentionally cheated when he used the bat against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pujols had just completed one of his best seasons since 2011, which was also his final season in St Louis, before moving to Anaheim. Maldonado reportedly reached out to his old Angels colleague about the possibility of using any of his bats before Houston's World Series game against the Phillies started. Maldonado believed that "Pujols always got some of the best quality bats," reported ESPN via Twitter. Pujols cooperated, delivering half a dozen bats.
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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. Maldonado believes the Pujols always got some of the best quality of bats because of his stature.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 28, 2022
Clearly, the bat was effective. In the second inning of Houston's Game 1 with the Phillies, Maldonado hit an RBI single, contributing to 1 of Houston's 5 runs. This wasn't Houston's first sketchy move during the game; Aledmys Diaz attempted to get a hit by pitch by leaning over the plate on what some observers believe to have been a strike from David Robertson. According to Fox broadcast, Maldonado was informed that he could not use Pujols' bats. He switched back to his own bats on Saturday, October 29.
Per FOX: Martín Maldonado used a bat last night Albert Pujols sent him that MLB considers not within the rules. It was grandfathered in for Pujols because he had been using it prior to 2010. So Martín back to using his bats.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 30, 2022
Tom Verducci, from Fox's broadcast, told Daily Mail, "Martin Maldonado is using a different bat today here in Game 2. He found out from MLB today that the bat he used last night was not a legal bat. It was a model he obtained from Albert Pujols, and he used it because he thought it was very similar in size and weight to his own model. The barrel, he said, was slightly bigger." He continued, "He also thought it was a way to honor the baseball legend, of course retiring with the close of the season, but here's the catch to it, guys: in 2010, Major League Baseball changed the bat specifications and that bat that Pujols modeled was no longer, except if you were playing prior to 2010 it was grandfathered. So Albert Pujols could use that bat but Maldonado, who began his major league career in 2011, was not legally able to use that bat."
Pujols and Maldonado played together with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017 and 2018. MLB changed the requirements for all bats in 2011, reducing the maximum barrel diameter from 2.75 inches, which had been the standard for more than a century, to 2.61 inches. Even if Maldonado had been 'cheating', the Phillies won Game 1 of the World Series Friday night with an impressive 6-5 comeback victory in extra innings.