During the week, former Miami Marlins head David Samson confirmed the Dominican player is older than he claims, in an interview on sports journalist Dan Labatard’s podcast.
This statement came while the two were discussing their stance against Marlins.
The Miami team was the team that Pujols negotiated with during his free agent’s tenure in the 2011 season, although in the end the three-time MVP winner decided to make a deal with Anaheim Angels for 10 years and $ 240 million.
“We knew when we did the math for that deal that we didn’t care about 2019 or 2020 or 2021. It was so far into the future that it wasn’t important … We knew it was going to be counter-productive, we knew it wasn’t the age it was said to be. We have all the information, “said the former Baseball CEO.
Faced with this revelation, Le Pattard offered Samson the opportunity to step back, asking him, “Have you just informed Pujolz is older than he always says?”
However, Samson reiterated his stance on the matter, noting that there were many irregularities in the Dominican Republic regarding the age of different baseball odds.
“No person in baseball, not a single executive, thinks Albert Pujols is the age he pretends to be. It is reported that the scale of fraud that was happening in the Dominican Republic at that time, changing names, changing birthdays, would astound your mind.”
The 41-year-old Pujols is preparing to play his final year of decade with the Angels, which will be his 21st season in “Big Top.”