Albert Pujols

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Albert Pujols

St. Louis Cardinals — No. 5
First Baseman
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 2, 2001 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
Batting average	.332
Home runs	250
Runs batted in	758
Runs scored	748

José Alberto Pujols (Pronounced by himself and the media as "POO-hoals", IPA: /ˡpuˌhoʊlz/, although the proper pronunciation would be IPA: /pu'ʒɔɫs/, as it is a Catalan name) (born January 16, 1980 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is widely regarded as one of the best or even the best active player in the game.^[1][2]

Since his debut in 2001 through the 2006 season he leads the major leagues in RBI, runs, total bases and extra base hits, and is second in home runs and batting average. In recent years, he has become an excellent defensive player at first base winning his first Gold Glove award in 2006. During the 2006 season, Pujols became the first Major League player to hit 30 or more home runs in each of his first six seasons and the youngest to hit 250 home runs. He is also the first player since Ted Williams to begin his career with six straight 100 RBI seasons.

[edit] Early life and career

Albert Pujols was born in the Dominican Republic. He did not grow up in a traditional family unit. His father, Bienvenido, was in and out of his life from an early age. His grandmother, America, assumed many of the responsibilities of raising him. He had 10 uncles and aunts, all of whom seemed more like brothers and sisters to him.^{[citation needed]}

Albert and his family immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s, first to New York City and then later to Independence, Missouri. In the U.S., Pujols gained his love for baseball, batting over .500 in his first season of baseball at Fort Osage High School. He quickly became the most feared hitter in the Kansas City area, leading to multiple intentional walks a game in some stretches. He still managed to hit .660 with eight home runs his final year of high school, with limited official at-bats. After starring for both Fort Osage and the Post 379 American Legion summer team out of Independence, Pujols graduated from high school in December of 1998 and attended Maple Woods Community College in the Kansas City area during the spring of 1999. In his only season with the community college, Pujols showed off his talent, hitting a grand slam and turning an unassisted triple play in his first game and batting .461 for the year. Pujols only struck out once in his high school and college career, to Mark Prior, who Pujols played against when his team went to a tournament in California.^{[citation needed]}

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Pujols in the 13th round of the 1999 draft, the 402nd overall pick. However, Pujols initially turned down a USD $10,000 bonus and opted to play in the Jayhawk League in Kansas instead. However, by the end of the summer of 1999, the Cardinals had increased their bonus offer to $60,000 and Pujols signed with the Cardinals and was assigned to the developmental leagues.

By 2000, Pujols was assigned to the Peoria Chiefs of the single-A Midwest League, where he was voted league MVP. Pujols quickly progressed through the ranks of the St. Louis farm clubs, first at the Potomac Cannons in the high-A Carolina League and then with the Memphis Redbirds in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. In just seven games with the Redbirds in 2000, Pujols batted .367 with two home runs.

[edit] Major leagues

Lineup card from the March 27, 2001, spring training game vs. the Atlanta Braves. Pinch-hitting in the top of the 9th, Pujols crushes a game-tying solo home run, cementing his spot in the Cardinals' lineup.

[edit] 2001: Rookie of the Year

During spring training in 2001, the Cardinals were preparing for Pujols to join the Major League ranks, but the Cardinals' roster was already full of talented players, including Mark McGwire, Fernando Viña, Edgar Rentería, Ray Lankford, Jim Edmonds and J. D. Drew. While it's widely believed that an injury to bench player Bobby Bonilla freed up a roster spot, Pujols actually fought for, and won a spot on the Opening Day roster before Bonilla went on the DL. His first Major League game was against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.

In the season's second series, playing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pujols hit a home run, three doubles and eight runs batted in, securing his spot on the team. In May, he was named National League Rookie of the Month. In June, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game by NL manager Bobby Valentine, the first Cardinal rookie selected since 1955. Pujols' phenomenal rookie season helped the Cardinals tie for the National League Central Division title. For the season, Pujols batted .329/.403/.610 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) with 37 home runs and 130 RBI, and was unanimously named the National League Rookie of the Year.

[edit] 2002: No Sophomore Slump

In 2002, Pujols struggled early on as pitchers learned to pitch to him, but he continued to bat extremely well throughout the season, hitting .314/.394/.561 with 34 homers and 127 RBIs. The Cardinals finished first in the NL Central during a difficult campaign that saw the death of team announcer Jack Buck and the sudden death of pitcher Darryl Kile. The Cardinals defeated the Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship series.

[edit] 2003: Batting Champion

In the 2003 season, Pujols had one of the best individual seasons in Cardinals history and his best season to date, batting .359/.439/.667 with 43 home runs and 124 RBI, winning the National League batting title, while also leading the league in runs, hits, doubles, extra base hits and total bases. At 23, Albert became the youngest NL batting champion since 1962 and joined Rogers Hornsby as the only players in Cardinals history to record 40 homers and 200 hits in the same season. The Cardinals, however, failed to make the playoffs, faltering in the stretch to the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Pujols also finished second in the MVP voting to Barry Bonds.

[edit] 2004: Full-time First Baseman

Defensively, Pujols started his major league career as a third baseman. It can also be noted that during Pujols' rookie season, he started at every position, except catcher and pitcher, during the course of the season. When Scott Rolen joined the team in 2002, Pujols was moved to left field. Following an injury scare in 2003, Pujols was moved to his current position, first base.

Albert Signed a 7-year, $100 million contract extension with the Cardinals before the 2004 season began. Throughout the year, Pujols was nagged by plantar fasciitis, but he was still a powerful hitter, hitting .331/.415/.657 with 46 home runs and 123 RBI. In addition, Pujols was chosen to appear on the cover of EA Sports' video game, MVP Baseball 2004. He was also the MVP of the 2004 National League Championship Series, helping his team reach the World Series, where they were swept by the Boston Red Sox.

[edit] 2005: Most Valuable Player

The 2005 season saw Pujols establish career highs in walks and stolen bases, while leading his team in almost every offensive category. He finished batting .330/.430/.609, with 41 home runs (including his 200th career homer), a grand slam, 117 RBIs, 97 walks, and 16 stolen bases. However, due to continually nagging leg injuries, he finished with a career-low 38 doubles. The Cardinals were eliminated 4 games to 2 in the National League Championship Series, but Pujols hit a memorable home run in game 5—a 2-out, 3-run blast in the top of the 9th inning, off of Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge to stave off elimination. After the season, Pujols received his first National League MVP award, underscoring his critical role in keeping the injury-plagued Cardinals on track throughout the season.

In 2005, John Dewan noted in The Fielding Bible that no first baseman was better at digging balls out of the dirt than Pujols. Pujols saved 42 bad throws by his fielders in 2005. Derrek Lee was second with 23.

[edit] 2006: First Championship

Pujols set the record for the most home runs hit in the first month of the season, at 14, on April 29, 2006. On June 3, 2006, Pujols suffered an oblique strain chasing a foul pop fly off the bat of Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez. He was later placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career. Pujols, at the time of his injury, had 25 home runs and 65 RBI and was on pace to break the single-season records held by Barry Bonds (73 HRs) and Hack Wilson (191 RBI). Pujols returned in time to help the Cardinals win the NL Central. He started at first base for the 2006 National League All-Star team at the All-Star game in Pittsburgh. Pujols finished the season with a .331/.431/.671 line, establishing new career-highs in slugging percentage (in which he led the majors), home runs (49)(second) and RBIs (137)(second). In 2006 National League MVP voting he came in a close second to eventual winner Ryan Howard, garnering 12 of 32 first-place votes.

After appearing in the playoffs with the Cardinals in four of his first five years in the big leagues but falling short each time, Pujols won his first championship ring when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers four games to one.

Pujols' fielding percentage was close to the bottom amongst qualified National League first basemen in his first two full seasons at the position, but in 2006 it was impressive. After the season Pujols' improvements were recognized as he was given his first Gold Glove award. He has had the highest range factor amongst first basemen in his two full seasons, and led the National League in that category in 2006; emblematic was the sprawling, flip-from-his-back play Pujols made to rob Placido Polanco of a hit in the 7th inning of Game 5 of the World Series.

[edit] Personal

Pujols married his wife, Deidre, on January 1, 2000. They have three children, Isabella (Deidre's daughter, adopted by Albert), Albert Jr., and Sophia. Albert and his wife are active in the cause of people with Down syndrome, as Isabella was born with this condition. In 2005 (appropriately on May 5, which would be 05/05/05, 5 being Albert's number), they launched the Pujols Family Foundation which is dedicated to "the love, care and development of people with Down syndrome and their families", as well as helping the poor in the Dominican Republic.^[3] Pujols and his wife are very active Christians; as the foundation's website says, "In the Pujols family, God is first. Everything else is a distant second."^[4] More information on the foundation can be found at their website: www.pujolsfamilyfoundation.org. He has taken part ownership in Patrick's restaurant at Westport Plaza in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The remodeled restaurant was reopened as Pujols 5 on August 30, 2006."^[5]

Pujols is close friends with second baseman Placido Polanco a former teammate with the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols is godfather to Polanco's 3-year-old son, Ishmael.^[6] Placido was a second baseman on the 2006 Detroit Tigers team which lost to the Cardinals.

On February 7, 2007, Pujols became a U.S. citizen^[7], scoring a perfect 100 on his citizenship test. ^[8]

[edit] Accomplishments

• 2005 National League MVP
• Five-time All-Star (2001, 2003-06)
• Pujols has finished in the top four in the voting for MVP of the National League every year of his career, winning once (2005) and coming in second three times (2002, 2003 & 2006).
• National League Batting Champion, 2003
• Only Ralph Kiner hit more home runs (215) in his first five seasons (2001-05) than Albert (201).
• Named to Major League Baseball's Latino Legends Team in 2005 as the starting first baseman.
• First Cardinal Home Run in New Busch Stadium^[9]
• Became the 35th batter to hit four homeruns in four consecutive at-bats, and the 20th batter to hit four home runs in four consecutive plate appearances, on April 16 and 17, 2006.
• Holds the record for most home runs in the month of April with 14 in 2006.
• Became the fastest player in Major League history to reach 19 home runs in a season, doing so on May 13, 2006.
• Became the third-fastest, after Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, to reach 25 home runs in a season, doing so on May 29, 2006.
• Became first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs in each of his first six seasons (2001-06).
• Became the 16th batter to hit three home runs in a game twice in the same season in 2006 (04.16 & 09.03).
• 20 of his 49 home runs accounted for the game-winning RBI in 2006, breaking Willie Mays' single-season record set in 1962.^[10][11]
• 2006 World Series Champion.

[edit] Awards

• Rookie of the Year, 2001
• Three-time Silver Slugger (2001, 2003-04) (Note: Pujols has won a Silver Slugger at three different positions: First Base, Third Base, and Left Field).
• National League Player of the Month for both May and June 2003 and for April 2006
• Hank Aaron Award, 2003
• TSN Player of the Year, 2003
• NLCS MVP, 2004
• National League MVP, 2005
• Gold Glove Award at first base, 2006

[edit] Statistics

Career Statistics:
Hitting (through 2006)

162-game Averages

[edit] Comparison

• Each player's first six full years are averaged together:

†Babe Ruth was a starting pitcher during his first 5 seasons of Major League Baseball. His first full season in which he was primarily a position player was 1918.

[edit] References

1. ^ Nate Silver (2006). Baseball's most valuable players. ESPN.com.
2. ^ Hal Bodley (2006-10-31). Cardinals slugger Pujols earns perfect score in annual Elias player rankings. USA Today.
3. ^ Mission Statement. Pujols Family Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
4. ^ About Our Faith. Pujols Family Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
5. ^ Pujols Swings, and it's a grand...opening. St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
6. ^ Enrique Rojas (2006-10-23). Pujols is godfather to Polanco's son. ESPN.com.
7. ^ Leach, Matthew (February 8, 2007). Pujols officially becomes U.S. citizen. MLB.com.
8. ^ A.P. (2007). Pujols officially becomes U.S. citizen. Daily Vidette online.
9. ^ Recap of first game at New Busch.
10. ^ AP (2006-9-27). Three-run Pujols blast helps Cards snap 7-game skid. ESPN.com.
11. ^ AP (2006-9-29). Cards power past Brewers, extend narrow division lead. ESPN.com.

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[edit] External links

• Albert Pujols official web site, the Pujols Family Foundation
• Albert Pujols at ESPN.com
• Pujols 5 Westport Grill (Albert's Restaurant) official site
• MLB.com profile