A Boy Who Loves Baseball
by Michael Riehn
Whiteyball Staff
Albert Pujols Opening day 2009
Last night my son wanted me to tell him a story. We were in our car, driving home from dinner, so I didn’t have the benefit of a book to read him. I had to make up something on the spot, and this is not one of my strong suits. He is 5 years old though, and is at a great age for being interested in my limited story telling ability. Kids at that age haven’t had much experience in the world and are interested in learning and/or anything you find exciting.
After quickly going through my standards (Boy Who Cried Wolf, David and Goliath), I was running out of ideas. Yesterday’s Cardinal game was fresh in my mind, so I told him the story about a little boy from the Dominican Republic who loved baseball. The boy’s name was Albert and he went from a player that nobody wanted (barely being drafted) and the last man picked out of Spring Training his rookie year, to one of the best players to ever play the game. My son loved this story, and wanted me to tell it again and again. It made me realize what a remarkable journey this player has had and how lucky we are to watch it.
Albert Pujols crushed 2 home runs yesterday for his 25th career multi-homer game, and is now on pace for 60 Home Runs, 212 RBI, 182 R, 130 BB, 20 SB with only 40 strikeouts on the season. The man puts up sick statistics that you only see from the game’s all time greats, and he does it every year. He has already accumulated a .344/.458/.719 slash line (BA, OBP, SLG) on the young season and is coming off a week long SLUMP where he hit under .200 for 7 days. For the 9th season in a row, we can sit back and enjoy the ride. Can a player that puts up these type of Hall of Fame statistics year in and year out be underrated?
With Albert, it is the little things that go unnoticed. When your superstar works the hardest on the team and is probably the team’s best hitting coach you have something even more special than the numbers can illuminate.
How do players constantly have better seasons when they join the Cardinals? Khalil Greene was terrible last year, but seems to be taking a new approach to hitting (more walks, not chasing bad pitches). Is it a coincidence that he followed Pujols around during hitting drills in Spring Training? There is no secret that Pujols has helped Yadier Molina’s game, who at age 27 may be turning the corner as one of the best defensive AND offensive catchers in baseball. Pujols sets a great example for everyone and gives up his time in order to bring out the best in his teammates.
Pujols has no speed, yet stole a base the last two games and is one of the smartest baserunners in baseball. How many times does he take the extra base on a bad throw or score a run when a speedier runner would have stopped? When was the last time he was thrown out? On Wednesday, Duncan hit a line drive at Delgado a couple of feet from the bag with Pujols on 1st base. He is probably the only player in the majors that doesn’t get doubled off in this situation. Albert has this uncanny sixth sense that you can’t teach. His mind is always in the moment and he rarely makes a mental mistake. Contrast this to Manny Ramirez, who is in my opinion the second greatest right handed hitter in the game today. They may hit alike and have affable personalities, but that is where the similarities end.
Pujols is one of the best fielding 1st basemen year in and year out. He currently leads the National league in UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) and is on pace for a 14.3 UZR/150. This measures the amount of runs a player saves above an average player over 150 games (thus Pujols would save over 14 runs on the season… this is a lot). This doesn’t even take into count his throwing ability. How many times has he cut a ball off from the outfield and throws out a runner trying to stretch a base? Remember, this is the man that has needed arm surgery for 5 years, but plays through the pain.
He’s the most competitive player on the team, yet he’s the guy picking up his teammates after they make a mistake. Most great players have a difficult time having patience for their lesser teammates’ mistakes. Some of the best players in sports are also the most competitive. Legends like Michael Jordan, Ted Williams and Ray Lewis are famous for constantly putting pressure on their teammates. Players with competitive fire, have trouble turning it off and can sometimes go too far. This is not the case for one of the nicest players in the game. Players love Pujols, pitchers fear him.
You know what is scary about the 2009 Pujols start? As good as he’s been, he has actually been unlucky. He only has a .292 Batting Average on Balls in Play. This is a measure of the number of batted balls that safely fall in for a hit (not including home runs). Over Pujols’ career he averages a .322 mark (which is 30 points higher than he is currently averaging).
How good can this man be? Adding in his community work, family involvement and faith, he is the total package. With all due respect to Stan Musial, are we watching the greatest Cardinal ever?
Photo courtesy of Jamie Overkamp
Filed Under: Baseball • Uncategorized
About the Author: I am a Cardinal fan, from a small town in Missouri and grew up listening to the Whiteyball teams of the 1980s (but still love the Tony LaRussa version). Currently living outside of St. Louis, I am a partial season ticket holder with a great group of friends.
I hold the position of Director of Sales and Marketing for a hydraulic press manufacturer and serve on a local youth baseball board of directors. Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/mriehn
I’m with you on most points, but AP’s fielding has left a lot to be desired so far this season.
Pujols has had a few lapses in the field to be sure, but his overwhelming range has more than made up for it. UZR takes into account his errors (and his range). Fielding is one of Albert’s most underrated features to his game. You don’t realize how much better he is than everyone else, and he consistently does it year in and year out.
But does his range sometimes hamper the players around him?
I can think of probably two or three times already this season that he has gone so far to his right that he’s essentially cutting off the second baseman, who would arguably have a better throw toward the pitcher at first.
There’s no doubt he’s taken on the role at first base with great preparation and excelled. But as is the case with many superstars and great ballplayers, I sometimes wonder if he tries to do too much.
These aren’t the 2007 Cardinals, Albert doesn’t have to do it all.
The 2009 Cardinals have an outfielder playing second base, I think range is a significant plus!
Seriously though, the plays Pujols makes are to his left and right and anything he can cut off gives the Cardinals a better chance to make the play or doesn’t become an extra base hit (down the line).
I also believe you are trusting a bias of a few plays rather than the overall play. Pujols is usually great at scooping out balls, starting double plays and making the right play to get the out. My bias is that he is a great fielder, and the statistics back me up.
He does try to do to much sometimes, but when you are that good, I would rather him try to make the play than to count on someone else. Above all else that was said, you keep waiting for the negative comments and rumors to surface about A.P. Luckily so far they have all been false. He is definitely the best all around player on and off the field I have seen in my short 30+ years of watching baseball.
[...] This post was Twitted by matclub – Real-url.org [...]