Trout confused by no-pitch walk issued to Pujols

Albert Pujols made franchise history on Monday by becoming the first Los Angeles Angels player to get the no-pitch intentional-walk treatment - a move that confused teammate Mike Trout.

"I called timeout, got to the bag," Trout recounted for Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times, "and when I looked up, (Pujols) was on first base. It was different. He was laughing. I was laughing. It took me a little bit to figure out what happened."

The new intentional-walk rule - which has already been used seven times so far this season - was introduced this past offseason as part of Rob Manfred's measure to improve the pace of play. While it takes up a relatively small amount of time, it has already sped up games during some pretty high-leverage moments.

In the time it took Trout to call timeout, remove whatever equipment he still had on after hitting a double, and look up, an entire plate appearance had been resolved. Even players are noticing pace-of-play improvements.

Of course, the play worked out in favor of the Oakland Athletics, as Ryan Madson got the next batter, C.J. Cron, to ground into a fielder's choice, with Pujols thrown out advancing to second base. The Athletics went on to seal their first victory of the season - an Opening Day win for the home crowd - by a score of 4-2.