The Angels have been panned for implementing some of the industry’s most aggressive cuts throughout their scouting and player development staffs, and first baseman/designated hitter Albert Pujols is offering a helping hand to some of his countrymen who’ve been impacted. According to Maria Torres of the L.A. Times, Pujols will pay the salaries of the Angels’ furloughed employees at their academy in the Dominican Republic for the next five months.
Pujols becomes the latest established veteran to make a gesture along these lines, joining Dodgers lefty David Price and Rangers outfielder/DH Shin-Soo Choo — each of whom donated $1,000 to every minor leaguer in his respective organization to help cover lost wages. Pujols’ gesture will cost him roughly $180K, per Torres. Cynics and critics will surely point out that it’s a relatively minimal sum for Pujols, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that he was under no obligation to step up in this manner. And, those on the receiving end of his generosity are undoubtedly moved by his unexpected decision.
Meanwhile, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that the Halos have at least slightly scaled back some of their planned budgetary cuts. Nine of the team’s scouts will return to work in light of MLB recently lifting some of the restrictions it had placed on in-person amateur scouting. Some of those scouts are working this week’s Perfect Game Showcase in Alabama, which began on Wednesday.
sell the team, arte! codo!
say what you want about the contract, Albert is an absolute class act
Agreed.
I am not a Pujols fan or an LAA fan but this contract is not near as bad as has been continually stated. He may not have produced at his STC days but he hasn’t exactly been a stiff either. Nice to read this. Class guy.
oh yeah, it really isnt if we are honest here
Yeah I don’t like him or the Orange County Angels, but he is doing good.
Got any “hanging chad” jokes while youre hear? or maybe ones about Barry Goldwater?
Eh. I’d say you can’t point to it as the reason they haven’t been successful because it clearly never hindered their spending ability (Wilson, Hamilton, Simmons, Upton, Trout, Rendon) through the contract.
Otherwise its been pretty bad outside of whatever money marketing Albert Pujols brought in while he padded his career counting stats.
Nevertheless, a first ballot person and baseball player.
The Pujols contract has been terrible. Pujols being a solid guy who gives back doesn’t make that fact any less true.
Great thing he did here. But you can’t mix this in and say his contract wasn’t abysmal. It was an abysmal contract.
Yes he is
I have always admired Pujols off-the-field behavior. This makes me appreciate him a little bit more, even. He’s a good dude, and I hope he is still enjoying the game in spite of all the crap he has to take on a daily basis for his decline.
That’s nice of Albert. Moreno is telling these employees they are not essential and he doesn’t mind if they go elsewhere.
I don’t have an issue with that. Moreno is running a business, he has to take care of his assets. If he doesn’t consider them assets, why is he paying them when there is no job for them to perform?
This isn’t a charity. But he also better be prepared to lose his employees to teams that do take care of their people.
are furloughed scouts going to bring another mike trout to the angels? one scout’s endless push to draft him resulted him to be drafted by the angels. moreno is classless and downright stupid to realize the fact!
i hope these guys drop tips to other teams to spite the Angels
Why is he classless? It’s his money, he gives a ton to charity. He obviously doesn’t consider these employees an asset, and that’s his decision.
He might be right, who have these scouts recommended that have turned out to be any good?
I love the way other people always expect other people to give away things.
They blocked my comment above for mentioning hes a big T**mp donor. This website is so sensitive.
I think the trouble with Moreno is not so much he’s “cheap” but he approaches baseball like empty marketing, ie he splurges on the biggest names available, but he skimps on less flashy moves to build up organization, exactly opposite of what orgs like Ray’s and Dodgers do. So Angels persistently wind up with a very unbalanced roster–some very good (and exp) players (and a few overpaid ppl past their prime) and a lot of bargain basement signings, weak scouting, and thin minor league system. This does not look like a way to build a competitive team.
Pujols: Just tell me “when and where” you want to get paid?
Employees: Ohhhh….
So people in other countries don’t matter to Pujols that’s what I got from this story
… and people get so much free stuff that they expect other people to pay for their free stuff.
Do you want everyone to give away their money.
I find it sad that so many people want other people to give away money, but the people who complain are likely the ones who wont even take an hour out of their life to give blood.
That’s what you got from this story?!!? Really??
Unbelievable.
It actually was the most insightful post on this thread. When do you stop giving away money? If you give away some, people will always want more.
You want to tell someone what to do with their money and it’s never enough.
It was by far the most insightful post in this thread.
You seem like a very loathsome individual
get real, 11! it’s about paying moreno’s own employees!
The type of people who want someone to give away money always want them to give more. It never stops.
Moreno gives away plenty, but because he doesn’t give it to the people you want, he’s a bad guy.
Where’s all the praise for Moreno? He’s does what Pujols does? He’s just getting slammed because he doesn’t give it to the people you want him to give it to.
It’s BY FAR the best take on this entire thread.
I’d agree with you if you’re talking millions. This is 180k. He has that in his underwear drawer. DR is such a poor country. Good on Albert.
“How dare you give that homeless man a meal from the drive-thru. You must not care about any of the other homeless people!!!”
What a ridiculously cynical and juvenile response to a kind gesture.
Then you missed the point. He had an opportunity to come through a system and realize his dream, and he’s lending support to some of those trying to help other young players do the same.
I think his point was “Where does it stop?”
Good for Albert doesn’t mean bad for Moreno.
Moreno has given plenty to charity, but since he doesn’t want to give to this charity he’s a bad guy?
Calm down, Arte. Sheesh! We get it- you want all of our blood before you part with your money.
it’s not a charity paying his own employees! open your eyes!
They are part of his organization. It’s 180k. Ridicule people all you want, but imho this is indeed a PR hit to Moreno.
That’s just stupid and hateful. If you can’t help everybody than don’t help anybody?
It would be relatively minimal for a billionaire, too.
Hey Giants number one fan? Do you give blood? It’s nothing to you.
Do you donate 5 bucks a week to charity.. It’s nothing to you.
I love they way that people who don’t give expect others to give. It’s easy to give away other people’s money.
Billionaires don’t give money to causes: “HOW DARE YOU, YOU GREEDY PERSON.”
Billionaires donate to a cause they want to help, but it has the undesired political consequences: “HOW DARE YOU GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THEM!!!!”
The armchair financial advisors that live on the internet are exhausting, lazy, and have done nothing to benefit society and will do nothing to put themselves in positions to help others.
If these people who expect other people to give away their money would give blood, we’d never have a blood shortage.
Giving blood is nothing.
I just use that as an example. People are always EXPECT others to give, but they don’t give.
Do you?
Yes. It’s nothing to me. It’s an hour to an hour and a half of my life five times a year.
I don’t consider you a bad person because you don’t.
I do. I also don’t shame people who choose not to.
I don’t have any love for the wealthy or corporate America and all, but demanding the wealthy donate their money is just a little to self entitled for me.
Pujols has always been my favorite player, things like this were a common occurrence in his St. Louis days. Miss having him in a Cardinals jersey.
NL adopts the DH and we just might see him back there to end his career. Not even a Cards fan but I’d like to see that.
class. act. nice job Albert
Very classy thing to do, Albert!
very classy act from a very classy guy, shame on moreno for not paying his employees.
Arte Moreno is worth $3.3 billion. $180k is to him what $60 is worth to someone worth $1 million…
I wish you people would understand that net worth does not mean you have that money sitting in the bank.
The reality is: Albert Pujols probably has more readily available cash on hand than Arte Moreno does.
I’d agree with you if you’re talking millions. This is 180k. He has that in his underwear drawer. DR is such a poor country. Good on Albert.
People do realize that, well at least I do. That’s why I went with $1 million net worth. Many of us have this or near this for a net worth when you factor in home, retirement, etc. But have no where near this much money in his or her bank account. Stop making excuses for the rich. They love when you enable them like this.
shibbynotdude
Do you give blood? That’s nothing to you. Do you give ten dollars a week to charity…. It’s nothing to you.
Arte gives plenty to charity. But because he doesn’t give money to people you want him to, he’s cheap.
I have found that the people who give the less expect others to give a lot. I wonder if that’s true in your case.
Arte gives that because when you care about your employees it’s not a write off. Charities are a write off. In many cases those write offs are tax shelters for his friends. The types that pay many high salaries and give very little. It’s business at its finest.
racism at it’s finest, albert
What a racist.
So if you are DR,he’s all about helping you. But if you are black,oh,so sorry. I’m not helping you because your black.
Yeah,it’s his money. Big deal.
Hey Albert, what about the boys playing in Riverside CA and ain’t making any money. Why just DR, cause your Racist. It’s a fact, this move is horrible but shows his true colors. As he lives in a gated community of mansions in Newport Beach!!
Couldn’t help but think of Albert during the Lance Armstrong documentary. Guy do so much good but unfortunately it’s most likely because he benefited so much from deceiving everyone for so long.
He’ll quietly reveal the truth like Tejada a few years after retirement and it won’t be a scandal because he was so generous and a great teammate.
Lots of trolls on this thread. Good for Albert.
nope, just one. racist albert for not helping the other races.
Good guy Albert. Classy guy. Always has been!
Legend, we are lucky we still get to see this guy do his thing . I know his production is not elite anymore but old fashioned baseball fans need players like him , and teams need players like him to teach the younger guys .