"Phat Albert Rising"
Albert Pujols was a menacing figure at the plate long before he arrived in the major leagues. He struck fear in the most fearless high school pitchers back in Independence, Mo., when he arrived in the late 1990s.
Photo courtesy of The Examiner
Albert Pujols in his high school uniform.
Photo courtesy of The Examiner
Any Hall of Fame baseball player, present or future, is going to have his life pretty well documented. But the prep days of Albert Pujols were fascinating and compelling, as we just found out last week. Imagine an impoverished 16-year-old Dominican speaking barely a lick of English, landing unannounced in Middle America. Independence, Mo., to be precise. His 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame, linguistics, older appearance, ethnicity and ability to hit a baseball more than 400 feet with regularity caused quite a stir at
Fort Osage (Independence). His rags to riches story screams Hollywood.
Casting call
Finding actors who can swing a bat like a Major Leaguer, let alone Pujols, is needle in the haystack material. Better hit the Southern California college baseball scene and find a player with some acting ability. Versatile
Tom Selleck could easily pull off the role of Fort Osage high school coach Dave Fry, a mustachioed, no-nonsense coach who often wore aviator dark glasses. And
Will Forte – just coming off a great and understated performance in "Nebraska" — would be a natural as The Examiner prep reporter Bill Althaus.
