Why was Pujols the catcher and not an actual ALL STAR catcher?
Good hands.
The catcher reflexively blocks a throw in the dirt, the 1st baseman scoops it up. (Throw was in fact short, dispite the fact that Pujols was squatting at the top of home plate.)
That and the fact that they were hoping that some of Pujols’ popularity would rub off on him when they embraced after the pitch.