Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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November 25, 2009

Column: Pujols continues as poster child for baseball’s most consistent hitting star

By LARRY HYPES

Albert Pujols went where Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright could not for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujols’ third Most Valuable Player Award unanimously won the biggest National League hardware for the right-handed slugger. Either Carpenter and Wainright were popularly expected to win the N.L. Cy Young but both were eclipsed by the Giants’ Tim Lincecum.

Nevertheless, there was no doubt that Pujols would be the man for “everyday” players. (Even now, I am a little afraid that Bob Gibson might see this and send me a bad letter about those everyday players because Gibson would be the first to say that pitchers control 90 percent of the game.)

Pujols’ 47 home runs were two short of his personal best and a sluggish power output in September — only six round-trippers — kept him from hitting 50-plus for the first time.

Still, he becomes the first player to hit at least .320, have at least 30 home runs, drive in at least 100 runs, and score at least 100 in each of his first nine seasons. He is rapidly closing in on becoming the greatest statistical player in Cardinal history.

That honor is still reserved for Stan “the Man” Musial, whose 22-year career featured a .331 average with 475 home runs, 1,951 runs batted in and 3,630 hits place him easily among the top five all around players in league and perhaps major league history.

Musial’s winning personality was equally important to his popularity as one of the friendliest superstars to ever play the game, a hero to little boys and girls and adult fans.

Musial began his St. Louis career at Williamson in 1939 in what was known as the old Class D Mountain States League. In fact, Williamson edged Bluefield for the league title that same year in a high-scoring game.

Pujols has become widely recognized for his own efforts at helping children, especially in light of the fact that he is the father of a child with Down Syndrome. He and his wife direct a foundation which has raised considerable money for research and assistance to those afflicted with this condition.

For that and other humanitarian efforts, big No. 5 has won a variety of off-the-field awards given to players who spend time doing good for others.

He certainly has not done much good for opposing pitchers and (I regret to say) it appears that he may get even fewer good pitches to hit after the “success” enjoyed by the Los Angeles Dodgers by pitching around him in the recent N.L. Division Series.

Pujols got 44 intentional walks this past season and probably another 70 unintentional passes. With barely more than 500 strikeouts in his eagle-eyed career, he is highly likely to get the bat on the ball and pitchers cannot afford to take any chances.

He and Musial are now tied with three MVP awards, the most in team history. Barry Bonds won the award seven times to lead all candidates. Other former stars, such as the late Brooklyn Dodger catcher Roy Campanella, were also three time NL winners.

It may now be up to the Cardinals to find a hitter to protect Pujols consistently to keep those numbers high.

Musial had that protection through the 1940s but seldom enjoyed hard-hitting teammates behind him in the 50s. It makes a major difference, especially in light of the changing pitching rotations which usually feature six innings or so from the starter followed by a series of setup and closing hurlers. The hitters are certainly up against it from that standpoint.

One thing that Pujols is expecting is that the Cards will keep fielding competitive teams. He has one World Series championship ring (2006) and at age 30 is in the prime of his career.

He would need to get back to the big show a few times in the very near future to have a legitimate shot at equaling Musial, for instance, who played on the four league champions and three World Series winners in his first five full seasons in the majors.

In all other categories, Pujols is truly holding his own very well, thank you.

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