The Houston Astros’ Martin Maldonado used an illegal bat in Game 1 of the World Series that he obtained from Albert Pujols.
"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.
That... sounds like cheating? And while it's obviously not nearly as egregious as the Astros' coordinated cheating efforts that slapped a big asterisk on the team's 2017 World Series title, it's still a rough look for a franchise that seems frustrated to still be linked to cheating years later. Guess what, fellas: if you keep getting caught breaking the rules, that reputation is going to be hard to shed.
Reporters were discussing the exchange of bats from Pujols to Maldonado ahead of Game 1, so it certainly wasn't some great behind-closed-doors conspiracy: 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.But still, shouldn't there be...