José Alberto Pujols Alcántara.....Albert Pujols.....Prince Albert.....The Machine.....El Hombre
Whatever you choose to call him, you can't go wrong with.....great.
The Man...
“He has a passion for the game, a love for the game. You can see it. You can sense it. He’s got natural God-given ability. A natural baseball player. A warrior. The man is good at every little thing he does.” - Former Cardinals hitting coach Mike Easler
Albert Pujols is entering his 10th year in "The Bigs" and has been nothing short of outstanding since getting here, but he doesn't just get it done on the field. In 2005, Albert and Deidre Pujols launched the
Pujols Family Foundation, which is dedicated to "the love, care and development of people with
Down syndrome and their families," as well as helping the poor in the Dominican Republic. Pujols has taken several trips to the Dominican Republic, by taking supplies as well as a team of doctors and dentists to the poor who need medical care.
The Pujols Family Foundation also holds an annual golf tournament in which members from the Cardinals and other people play golf to raise money to send dentists to the Dominican Republic.
A new center for adults with Down syndrome that will bear his name (
"Albert Pujols Wellness Center for Adults with Down's Syndrome") opened in November 2009 in Chesterfield, Missouri. Albert made sure he was there for the opening.
The Myth...
"Let's say I retire 15 years from now. They're going to say, 'Well, he probably did it back then. He just didn't get caught.' I know that's what they're going to say. And you know what, man? It is sad, but at the same time, it doesn't matter. I know who I am. I don't care." - Albert Pujols regarding speculation that he has used steroids
The Steroid Era.....the era that "ruined" baseball. Whether it be Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, or Alex Rodriguez, the list goes on and on of players who took steroids or HGH, human growth hormone, to bulk up or to speed up their recovery or to (insert lame excuse here) it doesn't matter. The game has been tainted. Because of the number of players who have been tainted, anyone who has had great numbers gets a finger pointed in their direction and the name that comes up most is Albert Pujols. I can't say he did or didn't take anything, but he has denied it from day one and has even offered to be tested, but people still wonder. They use anything to cause people to question a man who's numbers have been steady his entire career. One such example is looking at photos from before and after. Check out these magazine covers for Muscle & Fitness in 2007 and then a Sports Illustrated cover from 2009. Some think Albert looks "deflated", as if he stopped taking steroids once testing ramped up, while at the same time some say it's the lighting at the shoot or that Albert lost weight to try and stay healthier. You decide.
The Legend...
"Albert Pujols may be the only player of the modern era, a hitter's era, that could retire after only 10 years and still be a lock for the Hall of Fame." - I Could Have Gone Pro Blogger Joe Borrelli
That's a pretty bold statement. I know, but if you look at what Pujols has done, while just now entering his 10th season, it is nothing short of amazing. Pujols is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in modern Major League Baseball; this is due in part to his impressive accrual of statistics and records before the age of 30. Nearing the end of the 2009 season, Pujols currently ranks within the top 15 players in major league history in four statistical categories: on-base percentage (twelfth), slugging percentage (fourth), on-base plus slugging (OPS; fourth), and adjusted OPS (tied for sixth). He also ranks in the top 250 players in major league history in a variety of other statistical categories such as career batting average (25th), career RBIs (175th), career runs scored (249th), and HRs (67th). He's also a World Series Champion, a three-time MVP, and was named
The Sporting News Player of the Decade.
From 2001 to 2005, Pujols hit 201 home runs, second all-time for the most hit in a player's first five seasons. By 2009, he had reached the 350-homer plateau at the age of 29—the third-youngest to do so—and surpassed
Ralph Kiner's record for most home runs in his first nine seasons. In so doing, Pujols became the first player to hit 30 or more home runs in the first nine seasons of his career, as well the second player to have 100 or more RBIs in the same timespan.
Pujols holds the Cardinals' franchise record for most career grand slams; he broke the record of nine previously held by
Stan Musial. Musial and Pujols are also two of only four players in history to have a career batting average above .330 and less than 500 strikeouts at the time of their 300th home runs (
Ted Williams,
Joe DiMaggio).
In his first 5,000 career at bats, Pujols had amassed 372 doubles, 358 home runs, and 14 triples for a total of 744 extra-base hits, the most in NL history, and is the second player in Major League Baseball to post nine consecutive seasons with 30 doubles, a .300 batting average, 30 home runs, and 100 runs batted in or better (
Lou Gehrig). He has scored 100 or more runs in eight of his nine seasons.
Most impressive (to me) is the record he most recently broke. Most home runs by a player in their first 10 seasons. What is so impressive about this? He broke the record in just the 7th game of his tenth season. That means he has another 155 games to pad that stat. Here's a list of the people he passed with that home run. In parenthesis you'll see their career total and current all-time rank.
Career home runs through 10 seasons
1. Albert Pujols 371+ (371*, 67th)
2. Eddie Mathews 370 (512, T21st)
3. Ralph Kiner 369 (369, 69th)
4. Ken Griffey Jr. 350 (630*, 5th)
5. Alex Rodriguez 345 (583*, T8th)
6. Hank Aaron 342 (755, 2nd)
7. Ernie Banks 335 (512, T21st)
8. Frank Robinson 324 (586, 7th)
9. Ted Williams 323 (521, T18th)
10. Mickey Mantle 320 (536, 16th)
Stay clean Albert and stay healthy, because you may just be the last great hope for the Steroid Era.
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