Los Angeles Angels: Time for Albert Pujols to come clean about age
For the last 20 years, Albert Pujols has cemented himself as one of the faces of baseball. The future Hall of Famer has dominated the game, accomplishing just about everything you could imagine. We’ll recap some of his outstanding accomplishments later, but the Los Angeles Angels first baseman currently sits on the very back end of his career. Pujols will make a firm decision about his potential retirement following the conclusion of this season. With retirement impending, it’s time for this all-time great to come clean about one thing.
And we’re not talking about steroid or performance-enhancing drug use. Luckily, this superstar survived the steroid era without serious allegations or, worse, indictments about using these forbidden substances. Instead, let’s talk about his age. Dear, Albert Pujols: it’s time to come clean about your age.
Albert Pujols: how old are you, really?
During a recent appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show,” former Miami Marlins executive David Samson accused Pujols of blatantly lying about his age. He went as far as stating that everyone in the game of baseball knows Pujols has been concocting this lie since the start of his career.
"“There is not one person in baseball, not one executive, who believes Albert Pujols is the age that he says he is,” Samson told Le Batard."
Samson cited the amount of “age fraud” that was going on back in the Dominican Republic during the 1990s and 2000s. The subject of his untruthful age came up back in 2011 when Samson and the Marlins went after Pujols in free agency. According to Samson, Pujols was ready to sign a lengthy deal with whichever team landed him. And for most of the teams courting him, age didn’t matter.
"“We knew when we did the calculations for that deal that we didn’t care about 2019, 20, or 21. It was so far in the future that it didn’t matter. We knew he’d be unproductive. We knew that he was not the age that he said he was,” said Samson."
Pujols ended up signing a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, his current team and the franchise he’ll most likely retire with. If there’s an ounce of truth to Samson’s allegations, honestly there’s no harm done. Inherently, there’s nothing earth-shattering about Pujols actually being 42 or 43-years-old when he’s listed by MLB records as 41-years-old. The three-time MVP hasn’t hit above .300 since 2010 and has only hit more than 40 home runs only once in the past decade.
Regardless, he’s still one of the best to ever do it. A little white lie about his age won’t tarnish the resume. Pujols owns three MVP awards, two World Series titles, 10 All-Star appearances, and ranks top-five on several of the league’s all-time lists. This includes fifth in home runs with 662 and third in RBIs with 2,100.
But, if Samson was truthful in his statements on Le Batard’s show, then the time for Albert Pujols to come clean is now. Honestly, just get it over with. The MLB and its entire fanbase are ready to fully enjoy the last steps of your superstar career.