Pujols' "bat-throwing" incident (explanation)

[K-Town]

Someone needs to photoshop a Napoleon hat onto him for a Spanish American War Hero graphic.

 

Seriously though, there's very little chance he's older than he says.[/quote]

 

Why is that?

 

 

Same reason why there's very little chance that any other player is older than they say. Because there's ZERO evidence that he's older. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Someone needs to photoshop a Napoleon hat onto him for a Spanish American War Hero graphic.

 

Seriously though, there's very little chance he's older than he says.

 

Why is that?

 

Because he's been heavily scrutinized, and there hasn't been evidence to support that he is older than he says.

[Dr. Cub]

Someone needs to photoshop a Napoleon hat onto him for a Spanish American War Hero graphic.

 

Seriously though, there's very little chance he's older than he says.[/quote]

 

Why is that?

 

 

Same reason why there's very little chance that any other player is older than they say. Because there's ZERO evidence that he's older. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

 

So, because there is currently no evidence (actually none, nada, zip, zilch); that means there's very little chance? Numerous criminal cases throughout the country remain unsolved due to little or no evidence, yet the crimes were still commited. Crazy, huh? I think I'm getting this sarcastic condescending thing down too.

 

Exactly what evidence could there be beyond the possibility of poorly forged documents? Are we going to do carbon dating?

[K-Town]

Someone needs to photoshop a Napoleon hat onto him for a Spanish American War Hero graphic.

 

Seriously though, there's very little chance he's older than he says.[/quote]

 

Why is that?

 

 

Same reason why there's very little chance that any other player is older than they say. Because there's ZERO evidence that he's older. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

 

So, because there is currently no evidence (actually none, nada, zip, zilch); that means there's very little chance? Numerous criminal cases throughout the country remain unsolved due to little or no evidence, yet the crimes were still commited. Crazy, huh? I think I'm getting this sarcastic condescending thing down too.

 

Exactly what evidence could there be beyond the possibility of poorly forged documents? Are we going to do carbon dating?

 

 

This argument is absurd. It's like me saying that Alex Rodriguez is Elvis Presley. I'd say that there's a pretty good chance that there is, since you can't prove otherwise. Right?

 

There is NO reason to believe that he's falsifying his age.

[Diffusion]

Pujols was aiming at the umpire, but he missed.

[K-Town]

Pujols was aiming at the umpire, but he missed.

 

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[snoodmonger]

Someone needs to photoshop a Napoleon hat onto him for a Spanish American War Hero graphic.

 

Seriously though, there's very little chance he's older than he says.[/quote]

 

Why is that?

 

 

Same reason why there's very little chance that any other player is older than they say. Because there's ZERO evidence that he's older. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

 

So, because there is currently no evidence (actually none, nada, zip, zilch); that means there's very little chance? Numerous criminal cases throughout the country remain unsolved due to little or no evidence, yet the crimes were still commited. Crazy, huh? I think I'm getting this sarcastic condescending thing down too.

 

Exactly what evidence could there be beyond the possibility of poorly forged documents? Are we going to do carbon dating?

 

Pujols actually went to HS in the US. Most of the age-lying issues have come with players signed through Latin AMerican camps or the like. It's pretty unlikely Pujols was a 21-year-old sophomore in HS.

[jjgman21]

Someone needs to photoshop a Napoleon hat onto him for a Spanish American War Hero graphic.

 

Seriously though, there's very little chance he's older than he says.[/quote]

 

Why is that?

 

 

Same reason why there's very little chance that any other player is older than they say. Because there's ZERO evidence that he's older. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

 

So, because there is currently no evidence (actually none, nada, zip, zilch); that means there's very little chance? Numerous criminal cases throughout the country remain unsolved due to little or no evidence, yet the crimes were still commited. Crazy, huh? I think I'm getting this sarcastic condescending thing down too.

 

Exactly what evidence could there be beyond the possibility of poorly forged documents? Are we going to do carbon dating?

 

Pujols actually went to HS in the US. Most of the age-lying issues have come with players signed through Latin AMerican camps or the like. It's pretty unlikely Pujols was a 21-year-old sophomore in HS.

 

when I was in 8th grade, there was a Mexican guy in our class that didn't speak a lick of English. of course he drove himself to school. turned out he was like 19.

 

Pujols came to the US when he was allegedly 16 years old. do you know how much free education a person gets in this country if he is 19-20 years old? zero.

 

it would not be unheard of for an immigrant to say he was younger than he really is to be able to attend public schools. in fact, it's quite common.

 

edit - see also, that Dominican kid from NY who dominated the Little League World Series.

[K-Town]

If Pujols is 30, then there's still hope for Rick Ankiel to become a slugger. After all, that would mean that Pujols didn't learn to hit until he was about 25.

 

I don't buy it.

[PujolsPower]

I admit that I lost interest in this thread at page three and quit reading. Just wanted to point out that I thought it was pretty impressive that Pujols called his shot. When I was watching the game, I thought it was a pretty questionable move to toss the bat. After hearing his reason for it, I think it is amusing. I do not necessarily enjoy the posing after hitting home runs, but as long as they clear the wall easily it doesn't bother me too much. I do get upset when a player poses on a ball that barely makes it out, or worse poses, and turns a double into a singl.

[jaydee]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

[PujolsPower]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

 

I am sure you have some reason to claim he is 30 years old. You wouldn't just be speculating because of jealousy of how good he is would you?

[wolf stansson]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

Dyslexic?

 

He apologized because of respect for the game. He showed up a pitcher because he wanted revenge.

 

 

And if anyone can show up a pitcher, its probably the best hitter in baseball.

[KyHen]

What a great topic. This is why I love this place. You hear the extremes of both sides (blatant bias from both Cub fans and Cards fans), and then you're able to get a good idea of the "truth," as you're pretty sure it lies somewhere in between. Lemme go over a few things after skimming the 10 pages of this topic...

 

For starters, I really liked this quote:

You realize that the pitcher did the showboating first, right? Pujols didn't start this thing. If a batter showboats, you expect your pitcher to retaliate. So when a pitcher showboats, shouldn't you expect the batter to retaliate?

 

Who was it that said that the pitcher should retaliate and show Pujols a lesson by at least buzzing him inside? I realize that's not really showboating, but it's still along the lines of something that, well, doesn't really make much sense.

 

Pujols clearly stated that the reason he did what he did was due to Perez "dancing around" after getting outs in the previous year, or something. How is a batter supposed to send a message back to a pitcher? Hit a line drive past his face?

 

I think the whole notion of the double standard for a pitcher to be able to retaliate but not vice versa is really silly. And again, like I said earlier: a bat flip is not comparable to throwing a little chin music to a player, but I still think they do parrallel each other more than most are saying..

 

 

Second, having seen every Cardinal game this year, let me say this: Pujols has been overly emotional this year for some reason. Maybe not too emotional, but it just seems like he's more fired up than usual. Hell, in the games preceding this "showboating" he was even flipping his bat 8 feet in the air when he was being walked. I'm not kidding. And I'm not even talking about intentional walks, I'm talking about regular old walks.

 

 

Third, I have never heard Pujols given the label of the type of guy that "puts his head down and runs the bases." That is and always was (at least for Cards fans) Scott Rolen's routine. Scott Rolen is an old school ballplayer. Pujols really isn't. Pujols and Rolen both respect the game tremendously.. but their attitudes are polar opposite. Rolen is really quiet, Pujols has always been known as the type of guy who plays with as much emotion as anyone.

 

 

After the home run, to be honest... I was disgusted. And I thought to myself, "wow, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come." When the PD article was released, I was kinda relieved. I don't think it was really just Pujols trying to cover for himself, namely because of the mention of Rolen commenting to Pujols. I think that was a very admirable thing of Scotty to do.

 

 

Bottom line is that, no, the bat flip was not warranted. But, for a player as emotional as Pujols is, it's understandable to some degree, because he does have some justification. That said, it still does not make it right and I hope we don't have to continue discussions like these, becase I think the guy is better than that.

[jaydee]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

Dyslexic?

 

He apologized because of respect for the game. He showed up a pitcher because he wanted revenge.

 

 

And if anyone can show up a pitcher, its probably the best hitter in baseball.

 

If he had respect for the game, he would not have showed up a pitcher. He can say whatever he wants after the fact, but he can't take back his actions. If you want to see respect for the game look at Rolen. Do not look at a guy who shows up the opposition like albert pujols

Edited May 1, 2006 by jaydee

[jaydee]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

 

I am sure you have some reason to claim he is 30 years old. You wouldn't just be speculating because of jealousy of how good he is would you?

 

You caught me man. I am so jealous of Albert Pujols. Amazing how some people's brains work, or fail to...

 

The reason I would say he is 30 is because

1) he looks at least 30

2) he is an immigrant who had a lot to gain by lying about his age (free education?)

3) of course its because im jealous of albert pujols!!!!!!!!!

[K-Town]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

Dyslexic?

 

He apologized because of respect for the game. He showed up a pitcher because he wanted revenge.

 

 

And if anyone can show up a pitcher, its probably the best hitter in baseball.

 

If he had respect for the game, he would not have showed up a pitcher. He can say whatever he wants after the fact, but he can't take back his actions. If you want to see respect for the game look at Rolen. Do not look at a guy who shows up the opposition like albert pujols

 

 

You can't judge a guy based on one isolated incident. Well, you can......... but you're pretty much using Jesus Christ as your standard, at that point.

[The Voice of Reason]

 

You can't judge a guy based on one isolated incident. Well, you can......... but you're pretty much using Jesus Christ as your standard, at that point.

 

Isn't it a bit of stretch (even for a Cardinal fan) to compare Pujols to Jesus Christ? :? Granted there age (both over 30) are similar but . . .

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball.

Gold.

[K-Town]

 

You can't judge a guy based on one isolated incident. Well, you can......... but you're pretty much using Jesus Christ as your standard, at that point.

 

Isn't it a bit of stretch (even for a Cardinal fan) to compare Pujols to Jesus Christ? :? Granted there age (both over 30) are similar but . . .

 

Yup. It's absurd.

[PujolsPower]

so he showed up a pitcher because of his respect for the game? great reasoning albert, especially for a 30 year old.

 

I am sure you have some reason to claim he is 30 years old. You wouldn't just be speculating because of jealousy of how good he is would you?

 

You caught me man. I am so jealous of Albert Pujols. Amazing how some people's brains work, or fail to...

 

The reason I would say he is 30 is because

1) he looks at least 30

2) he is an immigrant who had a lot to gain by lying about his age (free education?)

3) of course its because im jealous of albert pujols!!!!!!!!!

 

I guess I am not an expert and guessing someones age by looking at them. I do know that Pujols still had acne as recently as last year, which isn't too typical of 30 year olds.

 

I believe his family came to the US when he was 14 or 15. I am not sure that gaining a free education would be as important as earning money for the family. Either way, there hasn't been any discrepancies found with his birth certificate documentation, even under the added scrutiny post 9/11 that lead to many latin american players aging. Pujols doesn't follow the typical pattern of latino players that lie about thier age. Usually they claim an earlier age to enter a MLB baseball academy and look more appealing.

 

On a side note, he would have also had to fabricate the story of how he met his wife if he were lying about his age. To make a long story short, he lied about his age after meeting his future wife at a bar. He was only 18 but claimed he was 21. I don't have a link, but the story was about him not being honest about his age, and his future wife not telling him she had a child with down syndrome.

 

Until I see some evidence, I will continue to believe that Pujols birth certificate is correct. I get a little tired of writers occasionally claiming Pujols is older than he claims with the only support being that he couldn't be that good at such a young age.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Albert Pujols is 54 years old.

[LoneStarCubFan]

I have no idea how old Pujols is. He is, however, a punk on the field, as are the vast majority of the Cardinals' key players. Rolen and Eckstein are the only notable exceptions to this rule.

[K-Town]

I have no idea how old Pujols is. He is, however, a punk on the field, as are the vast majority of the Cardinals' key players. Rolen and Eckstein are the only notable exceptions to this rule.

 

 

Why so bitter??