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HOUSTON (AP) — Astros catcher Martín Maldonado was compelled to modify bats for Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night time after it was decided the Albert Pujols mannequin he swung within the opener was now not allowed within the majors.
“A rule is a rule, and I have to follow the rule,” he stated. “That’s why I didn’t use it today.”
Maldonado was 0 for 3 in a 5-2 win over the Phillies that evened the Series at one sport apiece.
In the opener, Maldonado went 1 for 3 with an RBI single in a 6-5 loss in 10 innings.
The bat he utilized in Game 1 — a Marucci AP5 — was a Pujols mannequin. In 2010, Major League Baseball modified bat specs for security functions, trimming the diameter of the barrel from the long-standing 2.75 inches to 2.61 inches.
The transfer to barely slimmed-down bats was designed to cut back the danger of them breaking into a number of items. As a part of the transfer, gamers already within the majors and utilizing greater bats might proceed to swing them.
Maldonado made his massive league debut in 2011 and due to this fact couldn’t use any of the bats that had been grandfathered in.
“I got it yesterday,” he stated. “I use the same model, but it is modified because of my service time. It’s a rule, and I follow the rule, so I didn’t use it.”
MLB didn’t discover Maldonado had any aggressive benefit utilizing the Pujols mannequin, and it appeared the mix-up was an trustworthy mistake. Maldonado batted .186 this season and is a profession .209 hitter in 12 seasons.
Pujols completed his 22-year profession this season with 703 house runs, fourth on the all-time checklist.
Bat maker Jack Marucci stated the AP5 was “one of the original models I worked with Albert to design.”
“He was the first player to give me a bat to replicate,” Marucci texted to The Associated Press.
It wasn’t the primary time Maldonado had used the bat.
“I used it back when I played with him, but he was my teammate, maybe three at-bats,” he stated of when he and Pujols have been teammates with the Angels in 2017 and a part of the 2018 season.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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