Prince Albert Pujols, he reigneth

ichiro

joaquin benoit

that's 8!

From 2015 to 2018, Pujols has accumulated a whopping 403 hard-hit outs, putting balls in play that travel at least 95 mph. Nobody has more. His average exit velocity is 90.3 mph, ranked fourth among those with at least 1,700 batted balls during that stretch, according to Statcast. His batting average on balls in play is .245, tied for the lowest in the majors among qualified hitters during that time.

Pujols shrugs.

"What can you do, bro?"

wwjvd

yeah that's a pretty pathetic attitude from someone who is too rich to care lol

i like how they paired the article with a sam miller piece explaining how shifts are bullshit

espn, something for everyone

Thinking about that makes Pujols think about all the line drives he has lost up the middle -- guaranteed hits in the baseball game he once knew. He is asked what his batting average would look like if second basemen played their position traditionally and didn't shade toward center field.

"Between .290 and .300, for sure," Pujols says, who instead sports a .254/.290/.428 slash line "Look at the balls that I'm hitting up the middle, especially this year. Out of those 30 or 40 or 50 balls, give me 25 hits. Add those 25 hits to my .250 batting average, I'd be hitting like .290."

(narrator voice): "he'd be hitting like. 316."

...

(narrator voice): "if you assume he's actually right about losing 25 hits up the middle this year against the shift"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwZJR3x9xwI

right after i posted that, he got injured and then underwent season-ending surgery on his left knee. sorry albert.

his line for 2018:

117 G, .245/.289/.411, wRC+ 90, 19 HR, 5.6 BB%, 13.1 K%, -0.2 fWAR, 0.1 bWAR (positive!!)

only 3 years left on his contract, after this season

he actually injured his left knee in the hardware store

happy 39th

sigh... thread:

He’s listed at 38, but I’m pretty sure Albert Pujols is 40. Today @baseballpro, I lay out new evidence (from Pujols’s own mouth), and then dig into why this happens, and why it matters, and what parts of it *don’t* matter much (Free): https://t.co/HGub38otZd

— Matthew Trueblood (@MATrueblood) April 24, 2018

or rather link:

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/39462/rubbing-mud-aging-angel/

only 3 years and $72 million left on his contract

slowest sprint speed in the majors last year (22.2 ft/s, which, when you put it that way, always seem really fast to me)
slowest sprint speed in 2017 (21.8 ft/s)
slowest sprint speed in 2016 (22.6 ft/s)
8th slowest sprint speed in 2015 (23.5 ft/s)

this will be close when it's all said and done

Pujols career (18 seasons): .302/.382.554
Cabrera career (16 seasons): .316/.395/.551

(after 16 seasons Pujols was at .309./.392/.573)

wow that's sad

(cabrera obviously a HOFer, but pujols' fall from the inner circle back to the mere mortals has been a long, slow, sad journey)

pujols still a little more valuable overall, on average, due to his blazing speed and impressive defensive skills compared to miggy, but yeah :(

Pujols w/the Angels: .260/.315/.453

to compare to similar "decline phases" from a couple recent HOF guys who fell off a lot from their peak:

Frank Thomas after his MVP runner-up campaign in 2000: .262/.376/.507

Griffey Jr with the Reds/ChiSox/Seattle pt 2: .262/.355/.493

that's why Peak Value and Career Value are separate considerations

prince albert pujols, he broketh free agency

First I've ever heard that Ruth's and Cap Anson's RBI totals are not considered official. I can maybe see that for Anson, but I don't get it for Ruth.

Box scores from the teens and '20s are not all absolutely verified/complete.

It's strange though that the pre-1920 RBIs aren't included in the official totals at all. Mistakes aren't too uncommon, and the "official" totals can easily be adjusted.

i was trying to think of a solid comparison for Pujols in terms of an all-time great player falling off a cliff. i checked out Frank Thomas, specifically the era after his 2000 MVP runner-up season. During his age 33-39 seasons he accumulated 14.8 bWAR. Albert during that same run (this is his age 39 season, doubt he'll add much to the total and may subtract some, he's at 0.0 bWAR now) has accumulated 8.5 bWAR.

Griffey Jr. put up a 7.1 bWAR during those same seasons.

Beltre, on the other hand, put up 37.6 bWAR. And it's probably not fair to include Barry Bonds but...63.1 bWAR from his age 33-39 seasons.

when i think of falling off a cliff, i think of andruw

🙌 Mr. 2,000 RBIs 🙌 @PujolsFive tacked on the two-thousandth RBI of his Hall of Fame career with a solo shot in #Detroit!

He joins Hank Aaron & Alex Rodriguez as the only #MLBPlayers to ever reach the milestone. Congrats to The Machine! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jgjvwD9Xvz

— MLBPA (@MLB_PLAYERS) May 9, 2019

1,329 of those RBIs with the Cardinals, 2001-2011

he is the Aged Compiler :/

his fWAR w/LA is a lot lower than his bWAR (6.6 vs 13.3)

even by bWAR's generous standards he's put together a WAR of 3.1 since the beginning of 2015, which is i think equal to what Cody Bellinger did in April.

The stories of fans doing right by players and being rewarded with autographs and such are nice. But Pujols has long been a humble fellow who gets to the heart of the matter. https://t.co/256RvmhZCC

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) May 9, 2019

saw people being really weird about that on twitter -- like 'how selfish!' or 'what an idiot; he didn't get it authenticated so now it's worthless'

Ignore the headlines you'll read about this being Albert Pujols' first time back in St. Louis since 2011. Truth is, he never left at all.

How Pujols' impact on those with Down Syndrome has continued to grow in STL even as he took a new uniform. https://t.co/5zNJNBtTBL

— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) June 20, 2019

pujols gets a curtain call in STL after homering to deep left

Ricky Horton speaks for us all when he said “of the 20 great moments he had - we’re gonna have to get another piece of paper”

scandal: albert pujols' wife diedre says cardinals fans truly are "best in baseball", it's like they never left, and that the HR ranked as the greatest moment in his career.

he passed pete rose for 8th place all time in total bases with that HR

just a little guy named steve sax up next on that list

jk, next up is babe ruth

2019 is almost in the books.

wrC+ 98, .249/.310/.449, -0.1 fWAR.

since the start of the 2015 season, he's been worth +0.1 fWAR overall, with his 1.6 WAR 2015 season balanced out by his -2.0 2017, and near-zero value for the other 3 years.

only 2 years and $59M left on his contract.

Prince Albert Pujols, he collecteth.

One key factor is the owners’ increasing use of analytics—sophisticated statistical metrics—to calculate a player’s value to the team and negotiate his salary accordingly. While many players believe that analytics can help improve their on-field performance, others remain skeptical.

“Put a computer on the mound and see if it will throw strikes, or put it at the plate and see if it can hit a fastball,” said future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols in the Los Angeles Angels’ locker room after a Labor Day weekend game.

https://www.thenation.com/article/mlb-moneyball-labor-unions/

not sure if he realizes that pitching machines are computerized, or that a computer-controlled bat with motion sensors could probably hit a fastball, if someone bothered to make it. not that is has anything to do with the point he was trying to make

Pitching machines have no soul

As a player whose career has essentially disintegrated in parallel with the rise of advanced analytics... I'm empathetic of his criticism of the advances. But then I remember dude is making zillions so then my empathy turns to straight up ROFL.

prince albert pujols turned 40 last week.

his ZiPS comp for 2020 is 1996 Eddie Murray

(trout's comp is 1960 mickey mantle)

only 2 years and $48M left on the contract

https://i.imgur.com/otHLPTe.png