Redbird Daily’s 100 Greatest Cardinals: #1 – Albert Pujols

This series was originally published at the Redbird Daily, but is now proud to call Cards Conclave home. This installment was written by Rusty Groppel.

If you haven’t, check out the Introductory Article to to gain understanding of how these rankings were built. That article can be found by clicking here.

At long last, we have reach the final spot on our offseason countdown. No doubt, the top two spots have been met with some controversy — perhaps a questioning look or a short, sweet “bull****” — upon seeing Stan Musial listed at #2, and not #1. Now, the debate is not about the players in the top spots, just the order. Even with an objective system, one could have easily predicted that Pujols, Musial, Bob Gibson, and Rogers Hornsby would occupy the top 4 spots, they are among the greatest in baseball history, not just Cardinals’ history.

But Albert over Stan?! Heresy! Blasphemy! Sacrilege!

Perhaps.

But, let’s keep in mind that this system was built solely on statistics. No emotional choices. No accounting for community impact or legacy. Just the numbers. Plain and simple.

I’ll get this out of the way first.

I’d love to say that it was “tied for first” situation with Pujols and Musial. It wasn’t. In the formula, Pujols topped Musial by 22 points, 272 to 250. In fact, if it weren’t for the “Extra Credit” that I awarded to recognize accolades, Musial would have found himself tied with Hornsby for THIRD place, with Gibson edging them both out with 253 points.

Now, I’ll be getting into a gritty breakdown of the formula and what we would do different tomorrow. Be on the lookout for that article. But the simplest explanation that I can provide for the Pujols/Musial results is this:

The formula gave credit to basestealing prowess. Musial got no points in this category. Pujols, the pickpocket that he is, earned himself 17 points for having the 14th best Stolen Base % in Cardinals history. That alone accounts for most of the difference.

Most categories saw Albert and Stan back-to-back, one way or the other. However, AB per HR — which was included to account for true HR prowess — gave Pujols another 8 points over Stan.

That’s it. Those two categories pushed Albert ahead. Otherwise, El Hombre and The Man were neck-and-neck.

And so let’s honor our top player.

#1 – Albert Pujols, 1B (2001-11, 9x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 6x Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year, Batting Title, 3x MVP)

Let’s be honest. Those of you that followed this countdown from the beginning had your suspicions — even if it was just creeping in the back of your mind — that Pujols might take the cake. He did. And rightfully so.

His time in St. Louis was not just the greatest run in our franchise’s history, but arguably the best 11 season run in the history of the game. Especially to start a career.

Albert burst onto the scene following the (un?)fortunate injury to Bobby Bonilla in spring of 2001. He seized the opportunity and never looked back. Despite being a man without a position, the bat played. The bat played all the way to 37 HRs, 130 RBIS, a slash line of .329/.403/.610 and a Rookie-of-the-Year award. His 37 HR’s set a new record for NL rookies (bested by Cody Bellinger in 2017). Heck, he even finished 4th in MVP to go along with an All-Star bid and a Silver Slugger award (I guess for 3B?).

He was 21 years old.

Changing of the Guard

That same year, my father and I headed to Busch II for what would be Tony Gwynn‘s final game in St. Louis. (They gave out pins in honor of Gwynn, the only promotional item I’ve ever gotten that was not at all Cardinals related.)

Pujols was playing 1B that day, which was pretty unique (he didn’t take over that position until 2004).

Gwynn, one of the quintessential players of the previous generation, made a pinch hitting appearance late in the game.

He smashed a sure-fire single towards the second base hole when, out of nowhere, Albert made a diving play ranging far to his right (as he would so often do in later years), throwing to first to retire the Hall-of-Famer.

A symbolic passing of the torch from one great to another?

More like Pujols ripped the torch from Gwynn’s hands and then raced off in a ’67 Mustang.

(Update: Albert would later take that same torch to Anaheim where he gave it to Mike Trout)

Consistent Greatness

Albert would make the All-Star game in 9 of 11 years in STL, and finish in the Top-10 for MVP every single year — Top-5 10 times — winning the award 3 times.

Pujols had an incredibly consistent run of tallying 100 runs, 100 RBIs, and 30 HR nearly every season in St. Louis. There were just two years he failed to accomplish this feat. In 2007, when scored only 99 runs, and in 2011 when he drove in only 99.

2011, his final season here, was the first time he hit below .300 in his career. He hit .299.

In his rookie year, Pujols struck out 93 times while adjusting to the majors. He would never go over 76 in a single season after that, typically falling in the 55-65 range. His career-low of 50 in 2006 was a modern baseball miracle. In an era where strikeout totals were climbing, Albert was a throwback.

Big Moments were Normal

Albert hit 10 walk-off HR’s with the Cardinals.

I’ll never forget a game in which Odalis Perez entered a game, greeted by Pujols.

FSN flashed the stupid numbers. I don’t know where they were at that exact moment, but in 20 career AB’s Pujols had a line of .600/.724/1.500 against the lefty. Owned.

Hrabosky simply said, “Change-up.” Dan McLaughlin, sensing the outcome, proclaimed, “Here it comes!”

Swing and a homerun, game over.

That was just the sort of thing Albert did on a regular basis. Commonplace.

Even when he got hurt, he never really got hurt.

In 2006, he hit the DL for the first time with a muscle strain in his side that doctors predicted would require at least a month long recovery.

He returned in 15 days.

In 2011, he FRACTURED HIS WRIST.

He returned in 15 days.

He never played less than 143 games in a season for the Cardinals.

Funny, in both years that he went on the DL, they ended up with a World Series ring.

(Oh, and anybody remember that time Albert slipped on the wet on-deck mat following a rain delay? If it had been, like, Hector Luna, they probably wouldn’t have worried about it. But this was Albert, so from that day forward, those mats were removed any time there was a hint of moisture in the air.)

Postseason Performer

Some great players seem to disappear or underwhelm in the bright lights of the playoffs.

Albert Pujols was not one of those players.

Here are some highlights:

First, a postseason slash line of .323/.431/.599 with 19 HR’s, 54 RBI’s, and 55 runs scored in 334 plate appearances.

There was the incredible Game 5 HR against Brad Lidge and the Astros in 2005.

He homered off of Justin Verlander in Game 1 of the 2006 World Series, helping to set the tone for that Championship.

Don’t forget the from-his-back toss to Jeff Weaver in the deciding Game 5 of that series.

 

Of course, on his farewell tour, he gave us a jaw-dropping 3-HR game against Texas in the 2011 World Series.

In the glory of Game 6, it was Pujols that got the action started with the single in the bottom of the 9th (he was 0-4 prior to that) and came around to score on the David Freese triple.

In the deciding Game 7, after Texas went on top 2-0 in the 1st, it was again Albert serving as a catalyst. He drew a 2-out walk, which was followed by a Berkman walk and Freese double and 2-2 tie. They went on to win the game and the series.

Even when he wasn’t the focal point, he was always in the mix.

In the Presence of Greatness

Over 11 seasons, us Cardinals fans would grow to take this once-in-a-generation talent for granted, simply because he was a given.

There is a line from The Office, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days, before you’ve actually left them.”

I think that’s fitting with Albert’s career.

As is this Jackson Browne lyric, “I don’t remember losing track of you…I guess I thought you’d always be around.”

We knew Albert was great. And from 2001 to, say, ’03 or ’04 we were all in awe of him. But somewhere along the line, we got used to it. We still knew what we were watching, kind of. But for some of us, it probably took him leaving for the greatness of Albert to really sink in.

Did you enjoy the show while it was still on the air?

If not, here’s some video to take you back.

The Numbers

This is where he ranks in so many categories.

 

Category	Cardinals Rank	MLB Career Rank
WAR	3rd	21st
Batting Average	7th	178th
OBP	4th	154th
Slugging %	2nd	21st
OPS	2nd	31st
Runs Scored	3rd	22nd
Hits	4th	24th
Total Bases	2nd	9th
Doubles	2nd	10th
Home Runs	2nd	6th
RBI	2nd	7th
Bases on Balls	2nd	48th
OPS+	4th	36th
Runs Created	2nd	14th
Adj. Batting Runs	2nd	16th
Adj. Batting Wins	2nd	16th
XBH	2nd	6th
HBP	3rd	80th
Sac Flies	1st	19th
Intentional BB	1st	2nd
Stolen Base %	14th	269th
AB per HR	2nd	31st
Win Probability Added	2nd	10th
Power – Speed #	4th	113th

It’s a shame that his years with the Angels have wrecked his rate stats so much. Still, we’re looking at a top 25 player of All-Time.

He honestly could have walked out of Busch Stadium following Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, elected to never take the field again, and he would have been inducted into Cooperstown July 2017. He was just that good.

I can sit here and gush over the stats, but I’ll just hit you with the chart. There is just too much ground to cover in words.

A Generational Player

For me, Pujols carries a great distinction.

He is my Cardinal.

See, my Grandpa — the hands-down most devoted, miss-family-events-because-the-game-is-on Cardinals fan one could ever find — had Stan Musial.

My dad got lucky, he grew up on Bob Gibson and Lou Brock.

And me? Well, my interest in baseball was touch-and-go in the late 90’s. From like 7-10, I was aware of what was happening, but I can’t say I was following it. I was there in the living room as my dad watched Mark McGwire chase down Roger Maris in 1998, but I wasn’t invested in it. Jim Edmonds and the 2000 team began to pique my interest, but again, it was all in passing.

Then came 2001. Then came Albert.

I watched the first couple road series against Colorado (when the camera stayed on Mike Hampton 90% of the time) and Arizona.

Then, came the home opener and St. Louis’s first look at Mr. Pujols.

I was sick that day — a pretty rare occurence — and stayed home from school. While surfing channels in the mid-afternoon, I noticed that the Opening Day ceremonies were on, so I tuned in.

In his first at-bat in front of the home crowd, Albert Pujols (batting 7th) cranked a 2-run bomb to Left Field.

Busch Stadium erupted and I was hooked.

As I grew up, in life and in baseball fandom, Pujols was the constant. He was…is my Stan, my Gibby, Lou or Ozzie.

He is more than likely the greatest Cardinal I will see in my lifetime.

Thanks Albert.

For Everything.

Thanks for reading.

Update: Although the milestone was not reached with St. Louis, since the original release of this article, Albert Pujols has become the newest members of baseball’s 3000 hit club. He has also surpassed Ken Griffey, Jr. to take the 6th position on the All-Time list.

Come back Tomorrow as I analyze our ranking system and tell you how our staff would change the list.

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