Astros' Martín Maldonado Used Illegal Bat from Albert Pujols in World Series Game 1

The Astros catcher used a bat from an ex-smoker. Albert Pujols is in the first game of the World Series.

Tom Verducci broke the news during the broadcast.

Verducci said thatMartn Maldonado is using a different bat. The bat he used last night was not a legal one. He used the model he got from Albert Pujols because he thought it was very similar to his own model. He said that the barrel was larger. He thought it would be a good way to honor the baseball legend and retire at the end of the season.

The Pujols model bat was grandfathered in after Major League Baseball changed the bat specifications in 2010, but it was no longer legal if you played before that. Albert Pujols could use that bat, but he wasn't allowed to use that bat legally.

The size of the bat barrel was over the maximum allowed after MLB enacted a rule change.

The maximum diameter of the bat's barrel has been the standard for more than 100 years, but baseball is changing it to 2.61 inches.

The bats were compared between the first and second games.

In a 6-5 loss, Maldonado went 1-for 3 with a second-inning single.

He started for the second game.