Happy Birthday to future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. Throughout a 22-year career, Pujols established himself as one of the greatest First Baseman and Right Handed Hitters of all time. Playing for the St Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pujols’s best years were with the St Louis Cardinals, where he rivals Stan Musial as the greatest player in Cardinals franchise history. 

Career Statistics/Accolades (2001-2022):

.296 BA 3,384 HITS 703 HR 2,218 RBI 1,914 RUNS .374 OBP

  • 11x All-Star
  •  6x Silver Slugger
  •  3x MVP (2005, 2008-09)
  •  2x NL Hank Aaron Award Winner
  •  2x Gold Glove 
  •  2x World Series Champion (2006 & 2011)
  • 2001 NL Rookie of the Year Award
  • 2008 Roberto Clemente Award

As a Hitter

From Day 1, Pujols was one of the best all-around hitters of his time. As a Slugger, he hit 30 or more Home Runs fifteen times. He drove in 100 or more RBIs fourteen times, ten years consecutively. I say all around because he wasn’t just a slugger; for numerous years of his career, he drew more Walks than Strikeouts. Also, he batted .300 or higher in eleven straight seasons and had ten seasons with an OBP of .400 or higher. As a baserunner, while Pujols wasn’t known for stealing an increased number of bases, he had ten years of scoring 100 or more Runs while leading five times. Also, for a right-handed hitter, Pujols hit a lot of Doubles, hitting 50 or more three times, and the most career Doubles (686) for Right Handed Hitters.

As a Fielder

Playing First Base for 2,026 of the 2,448 games of his career, Pujols had a lifetime .994 Fielding Percentage throughout 17,063.2 Innings. He took home the Gold Glove Award twice, in 2006 and 2010. He ranks 8th all-time among First Baseman in Double Plays (1,702) and 7th all-time in Assists (1,634). In 2009, he set the First Base single-season record for the most Assists with 185. 

Best Years

For the entire 2000s, along with Alex Rodriguez, he was the best all-around hitter of the decade. During those ten years, Pujols either won or finished top-5 in the MVP voting in all but one of those years. He won the MVP three times in 05, 08, and 09, which you can say were his best seasons, but it’s hard to pick out his best year. In 2002-03, he finished runner-up in the MVP to Barry Bonds, who at the time was supposedly using PEDs. 2003, he won the Batting Title, having career highs in Batting Average, Hits, and Runs. It’s safe to say if Pujols decided to call it quits after the 2010 season, he’d probably make the Hall of Fame, just based on what he did for those ten years. Statistics are from Baseball-Reference.

Legacy

Pujols has the two magical milestones of 3,000 Hits and 500 Home Runs, which to me as a hitter, if you reach one of those milestones, you should automatically get into the Hall of Fame. While he did have a few very good years with the Angels, he was never the same player that he was in St. Louis. Nonetheless, Pujols is still one of the few greatest Right Handed Hitters and First Baseman of all-time. All time he ranks 9th in Hits (3,384) 5th in Doubles (686), 4th in HR (703), and 2nd in RBI (2,218). His first year of being eligible for the Hall of Fame is in 2028, which, well, there isn’t anything to debate; Pujols is a Hall of Famer. 

References:

  1. Albert Pujols via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Pujols#
  2. Albert Pujols Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pujolal01.shtml