Albert Pujols was cut by the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, stunning most of the baseball world. Pujols is in the final year of his 10-year contract with the Angels.
Though Pujols would not say he was ready to retire after the season, it has been obvious he is getting close to the end.
But now we’re starting to understand why Pujols’ release came so suddenly.
Pujols was told early on Wednesday that he was going to start that night against the Tampa Bay Rays. But the plans changed and he ended up on the bench. Pujols was not happy about that.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Pujols lashed out after the benching. He reportedly yelled at Angels manager Joe Maddon and criticized Maddon’s managerial skills.
The 41-year-old also told Angels executives he was not going to retire and that he was not going to spend the rest of the season on the bench.
Pujols may have been upset about the benching, but he might be even more upset to learn that there is very little demand for his services around MLB. Even Tony La Russa doesn’t have room for him.
It’s easy to understand where Pujols’ anger is coming from. Any competitor would be upset about a benching. And any player, much less a future Hall of Famer, would struggle with the end of his career nearing.
The end of a career for a Hall of Famer is often ugly, and it’s often full of problems. That is what we are seeing with Pujols’ situation.
