ALBERT PUJOLS SHOWS LEADERSHIP. Over the years, some of the most violent criticism I have read in a newspaper results from a failure by an athlete to give an interview. The latest example followed an error in the ninth inning of the second game of the World Series by Albert Pujols, the star of the Saint Louis Cardinals. The error cost the Cardinals the game. Pujols did not appear for questioning by the media after the game. This Yahoo article is typical of the reaction of sports writers to not getting an interview. Not doing so is often described by sports writers in terms more applicable to a serial killer. The article says that “Pujols is not accountable to the media. This is not about that.” The article then goes in for sports writer’s cliches about how errors are a result of moral failings. Pujols “spit the bit in a crucial game.” It was “bush league”. Pujols displayed “zero leadership.”
I have never been interested in postgame questioning of players. The questions are usually of the “How does it feel to lose this game [or win this game]. This yahoo article by a different writer notes the real problem: “leaving reporters to think up their own stuff.”
In the next game of the Series, Pujols hit 3 home runs and led his team to victory while setting a World Series record for most extra bases in a game.