Mr. Albert Pujols: Hitting Machine

After the first two months of this year, cynics were screaming that Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals had totally lost it.  The hype, the pressure of his looming free agency and his advanced age (of 31?) had all contributed to his hitting just .267 with 9 homers and a .336 OBP.  While these numbers represent a player more similar to Jimmy Rollins, Johnny Bench, or Brooks Robinson (all of whom sport a career .267 average), it wasn’t the King Albert we all knew and loved.  Give Mr. Albert Pujols a full season and he’ll amaze you as he always has.  In case you haven’t looked at his numbers recently… .298/.368/.551/.919 with 35 homers (on pace for 39) and he’s 6 runs scored away from his 10th 100+ runs scored season in his 11 seasons (the one season he missed 100, he had 99). He’s 8 RBI away from his 11th consecutive 100+ RBI season.  It’s Mr. Albert Pujols to you.

Entering this season, Pujols had 11 consecutive seasons with a .300+ average, 30+ homers, and 100+ RBI.  Miguel Cabrera is the only other player with such a streak longer than one year.  He’s just at two.

Pujols’ 35 homers lead the National League, his .298 average is 13th, his 94 runs are 5th, and his 92 RBI’s are 7th.  OK, at this point you get that this is a guy having a good year but, do you realize this is his worst year of his career?  His lowest average before this was .312 with his previous lowest OBP was some 26 points higher.  My theory?  Some seriously bad luck.  His BABIP (.273) is in Logan Morrison and Aubrey Huff territory.

The guy has battled through a broken forearm and still managed to hit .317 with 26 homers since the beginning of July!  If Mr. Albert Pujols isn’t worth $300 Million this offseason, other than guaranteed World Peace, and the cure to cancer, I don’t know what is.

Stat of the Day: In 2005, the Marlins led the MLB in FIP at 3.81.  This year, the Marlins are 11th in FIP at 3.81.

Stat Number 2 of the Day: According to a Census Bureau report, 46.2 million people now live in poverty in the United States and about 6.7% of the population (some 20.5 Million people) make under $11,000.  Remember we’re talking about Albert Pujols making 30-35 Million next year meaning he would make over $11,000 every three hours.

-Sean Morash