Former Major Leagues goalkeeper Albert Pujols said Monday that his goal as a leader is to be as successful as he was in his playing age, as he premiered in his new role as the head of the first day of Lions of the Dominican Professional Baseball Chosen Lions training.
“My 23-year-old career (in the Major Leagues) was a very good race, and my goal now is to have a good career as a manager or maybe better,” Pujols said, warning that he does not know if he will be able to achieve it, as he is not sure if his step as a leader will be so widespread.
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Pujols, who spoke to the media at the Yankees academy in New York in Boca Chica (about 30 kilometers east of Santo Domingo), said that his decision to direct, may, open the doors to other players who fear taking responsibility because of the legacy they managed to achieve as players.
Taking this opportunity perhaps I open the doors to so many ballers who want to have it and don’t, perhaps because of the fear of the fanatic and the legacy they have created,” explained Pujols, who said that his legacy has been dedicated all the time to God.
Pujols, owner of a career that points to the Major League Base of Fame, pointed out that his work with the Lions is not aimed at what he particularly can do, but at his contribution to the players who will be under his command to win the Lidom tournament.
I’m here to try to get the boys to have a great career. Now, my time is to try to help each of them. “We have a lot of talent in this team and that’s what I’m going to try to do, that they can improve and win a championship,” he said.
Nicknamed The Machine in his playing time, the Dominican retired at the end of the 2022 campaign of the Major Leagues with 3,384 indisputable, among these 703 quadrangulars – the fourth place of all time – and 2,219 runs driven, the second in the history of MLB, among other great achievements.
In addition to his love of the game, Pujols indicated that his decision to be a manager has also been motivated by the admiration he feels for leaders such as Tony La Russa, Mike Scioscia, and Dave Roberts, for whom he played in the Major Leagues.
As for accepting the role of leader with the Lions, he said he had been a fan of the team, the only club he played for in the Dominican Republic.
Pujols is defined as an example of leadership the fact that players like Junior Lake and Zoilo Almonte have appeared on the team’s first day of coaching.
The three-time Most Valuable Player of the National League and holder of two MLB World Series rings specified that he does not have a magic wand that assures the Lions of the championship. However, he stressed that he would do whatever it took to end the winning drought that the Scarlets had dragged from the 2015-16 championship.
I promise you we’re going to be ready and we’re going to give the boys the instruments to improve and help us win that 17th championship. I’m going to be a manager who will do everything that needs to be done, especially with the body of pitching coaches, to win, he said.
