Martin Maldonado Told Not To Use Albert Pujols’ Bats

The Astros’ Martín Maldonado tried to conjure up some of Albert Pujols’ home run magic by asking the future Hall of Famer for one of his bats for the World Series.

Not only did Maldonado get a Marucci-branded Pujols AP5 maple bat, he told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Pujols sent him a half dozen of his own bats. The catcher used one of them in Game 1 against the Phillies, but Major League Baseball quickly put a stop to that prior to Game 2.

Major League Baseball ruled that Maldonado could not use the bats because that particular AP5 model was no longer allowed in the majors by a player who wasn’t grandfathered in with a 2010 rule change.