Column:
Albert Pujols: the man, the myth, the legend
Published Sept. 3, 2010
You can count on three things happening in Missouri every September: the weather gets colder, the Rams embark on a 2-5 win season and Albert Pujols competes for the National League MVP.
Pujols’ nickname, “The Machine," is probably the most appropriate in professional sports, albeit not as flashy as Kevin “Durantula” or Eli “Don’t Call Me the Lesser Manning” Manning. The 30-year-old first baseman has hit over .300 with more than 30 home runs and 100 RBIs every season since his rookie year in 2001. Major league baseball has never seen that kind of remarkable consistency at the start of a career.
The Dominican native won rookie of the year at age 20, is a three-time National League MVP and after making the switch to first base, won a gold glove award in 2006. He’s putting up another boring .320-average, 40-home-run, 120-RBI season in 2010, which comes as a surprise to no one. The only difference this year is he has a chance to do something that hasn’t been done since 1967.
I’m referring to the vaunted Triple Crown, an honor bestowed on a person who leads his league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in simultaneously. Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat 43 years ago, and nobody has scratched the surface since. To cement how long it’s been, just remember that Brett Favre and his shoddy ankles weren’t born yet in 1967. So yeah, it’s been a while.
Pujols is leading the National League in homers with 35, but trails Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto in average (.327 to .316) and RBIs (97 to 95). Both players have a legitimate opportunity to win the Triple Crown, and it’ll be interesting to see if Pujols can overtake the National League Central’s other great first baseman in this last month. Regardless, I think it’s obvious that Pujols is more important to his team than any other position player in the majors. Other than Pujols, only Matt Holliday has more than 60 RBIs for the Cardinals this season, and a lot of his production can be credited to opposing pitchers preferring to deal with him rather than No. 5. Granted, Holliday is an excellent player, but with the rest of St. Louis’ offensively meager supporting cast, he would have a difficult time carrying that offense.
Few other teams are so dependent on one dominant player. If Alex Rodriguez went down for New York, they would still have $100 million worth of offense willing to carry the load. Philadelphia has not only Ryan Howard but also Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez to drive in runs. Minnesota has Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, but while Morneau has been out with injury and Mauer has been experiencing a power outage, the team still manages to churn out wins. Unlike these teams, St. Louis has one specific player who is crucial to their success: they need Albert Pujols.
Cardinals fans need to really appreciate Pujols while they’ve got him. He is putting up unrivaled numbers season after season and after it’s all said and done, could end up being called the greatest player of all time. Not only that, but without him the Cards could have easily just suffered through a decade of perennial losing —- and St. Louis sports fans already have the Rams for that.