On Tuesday, the Angels fired longtime hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. Not strictly because of Pujols' slow start, but because only the A's and Mariners have lower team OBPs, and only the A's and Twins have scored fewer runs.
With Hatcher gone, replaced by Triple-A coach Jim Eppard, Pujols homered on Wednesday. And then he homered again on Thursday. In other words:
Pujols with Hatcher: 146 at-bats, 1 HR
Pujols with Eppard: 8 at-bats, 2 HR
Coincidence? Probably. Interesting? Definitely.
Next on Pujols' American League To-Do List: start walking. He's walked exactly once in the month of May. Albert has proven that he hasn't turned into Chone Figgins, but he needs to prove he hasn't turned into Vladimir Guerrero. That .248 OBP is far uglier than any low home run total.
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