Albert Pujols is a legend in his own right, but he’s played for some legendary managers as well. Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa led the Cardinals for the entirety of Pujols’ first tenure in St. Louis. Pujols played for two-time AL Manager of the Year Mike Scioscia for seven seasons with the Angels. He even played two seasons under Joe Maddon, a possible future Hall of Famer who helped break the Chicago Cubs World Series curse in 2016.
This week, Pujols, who is playing for his sixth Major League manager, Oliver Marmol of the Cardinals, discussed the topic of managers and player/manager relationships with former All-Stars Jimmy Rollins and Ron Darling in the latest edition of the Unwritten podcast.
So what is the most important attribute of a manager, according to the 42-year-old, 22-year MLB veteran?
“Communication is huge,” Pujols said. “As a manager, you need to communicate with your players what their role is. … That way there’s nothing that can happen that can trigger that player. You don’t want that to happen.”
The trio talked about how the game has changed since Rollins and Pujols debuted in 2001 when front offices were less hands-on about what happened on the field.
“The game has changed a lot,” Pujols said. “The front office guys are smart in the things that they do, but they haven’t played the game of baseball. They want to focus on sabermetrics and crushing numbers here and there, which I agree with, but there always has to be that balance.”
Tune in every Wednesday as Rollins and Darling talk about baseball’s unwritten rules. Listen and subscribe now on Audacy, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.