Prince Albert Pujols, he reigneth

I think Fangraphs missed him--using their numbers, Ichiro is -0.1 for the same time frame, which would put him with Joe Tinker.

oh, i think that list was comparing pujols to hall of famers, only (although ichiro is obv a hall of famer)

which is stiff competition, of course, but i think they were just trying to make the point that out of elite players, pujols has been uniquely awful in his later years

Yeah, I missed that. Reserve a spot for Ichiro, and Cabrera too.

honestly, selfishly, as a cardinals fan, i have to admit that there is something cathartic and comforting about being able to compartmentalize his career to just his years in STL. virtually all of his good times were there. all of them, i think? (unless you count reaching big counting stat milestones like 500 HR etc)

am i right in thinking he was never the same after developing plantar fasciitis?

― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand)

yeah, it was already apparent in the last parts of 2010 and especially in 2011. he was noticeably slower in 2011, obviously playing through something. he's been playing through it ever since, i think

Biggio crossed my mind--I remember him hanging on for what seemed like forever in pursuit of 3,000 hits--but he was actually only terrible his final season, age 41; he was just barely above replacement at 40, and his age-season was pretty decent (26 HR).

"his age-39 season"

as bad as pujols has been, he's still more or less replacement level. i mean you'd like to get more out of $30m or whatever, but he's still playable. which is more than you can say for justin upton, whom they still have two more years of.

i'm curious how rendon will fare. he's been great this mini-season, but . . .

LUKEWARM TAKE: Pujols' decline was simply related to the increase in testing.

From Muscle & Fitness (May 2007):

https://www.muscleandfitness.com/athletes-celebrities/news/swing-king/

At 6'3" and 240 pounds, Albert looks more like a football strong safety than a first baseman. Sporting a sleeveless T and shorts for his shoot with M&F, he speaks on his weight training as knowledgeably as he might on hitting. But like many ballplayers, he was initially reluctant to subscribe completely to a regular weight-training program, fearing that he might get too tight or that his swing might suffer. "I grew up in the Dominican [Republic], but I never lifted weights there," he says. "I didn't do anything crazy until I started working with Chris Mihlfeld in 1998, when I was 18."

Mihlfeld, now Albert's full-time personal trainer (and training partner), remembers a young player with more potential than presence. "He was around 205 pounds, long, lanky, but a little soft around the middle with some baby fat," says Mihlfeld, who coached Albert for a short time at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, Missouri. "He had good natural strength in his hands and forearms, but he didn't have any weight-training experience at all." That changed in 1999 when Albert was signed in the free-agent draft and contacted Mihlfeld to help him get stronger for The Show. "We took small steps," Mihlfeld says. "He wasn't very strong with the weights at first, but in the last three years, we've really started to go heavy. In the beginning, he was doing dumbbell bench presses with 35s and 40s. Now, he's throwing around 100s like cupcakes."

Chris Mihlfeld was outed by Deadspin* as one of the redacted names when Jason Grimsley got busted for an impressive regime of HGH/Steroid cocktails. Mihlfeld had been fired from his position of Strength & Conditioning Coach by the KC Royals shortly after Novitsky's investigation:
https://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/sports/pitcher-spills-steroid-speed-secrets

*https://deadspin.com/so-weve-got-some-affidavit-names-179400

which is the more controversial take, this ^ or the age one

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.

― Sally Jessy (Karl Malone), Wednesday, September 18, 2019 10:50 AM (one year ago)

let's do the 2020 update.

wRC+ 79, .224/.270/.395, -0.1 fWAR in 39 games.

in his first 5 years with the angels (2012-2016) he put up 9.0 fWAR, 119 wRC+, .266/.325/.474.
in his last 4 years (2017-2020), he dropped to - 2.7 fWAR, 85 wRC+, .242/.291/.406.

only 1 year and $24M left on his career.

Assuming that's it, Cardinals fans take solace: 11 seasons in St. Louis, 10 in L.A.

Is this new? Feels like an old story (or was it just suspicion?).

https://www.insider.com/albert-pujols-lying-about-his-age-2021-3#:~:text=David%20Samson%2C%20who%20served%20as,Angels%20following%20the%202011%20season.

widely suspected but samson is also an attention-getting radio guy so i don't put extra stock in his word

A James tweet today:

Albert Pujols with the Cardinals was 179 hits ABOVE .300. His career average is now .299. I would be surprised if there was any other player in history who ever went from 179 hits above .300 to finish under .300.

There's actually a perfect split there: first 10 years all over .300, next 10 all under .300 (first one .299, but still).

2001-10: .332
2011-20: .262

retiring at .299 would irritate the shit out of me

tell it to mickey mantle

Players who did:

Frank Demaree
Carl Furillo
Hardy Richardson
Dustin Pedroia
Bake McBride
Rico Carty
Jack Doyle
Matt Holliday
Kenny Lofton
Frank McCormick
Sam West
Harry Rice
Joe Start
Dante Bichette
Buck Jordan
Shane Mack

(.298 for Mantle.)

Anyway, I don't know how many AB it will take--probably no more than 50-100--but anything beyond that and it's probably safe to say Pujols won't be finishing up with a career .299 average.

I doubt Pujols has carried a .300 OBP across the past 6 seasons.

I peeked at his 2021 projections on Fangraphs, yikes.

THE BAT X has him with a .587 OPS. ZIPS has him at -1.1 WAR (not a career worst fwiw!)

I doubt Pujols has carried a .300 OBP across the past 6 seasons.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, March 11, 2021 12:26 AM (thirty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

close - he's at .301 over the past 6, .299 over the past 5

Because he's rounding up right now--he's at .29855--he'd actually have to get 30 hits in his next 100 AB to stay at .299; anything less, he's down to .298. So he'll probably be off .299 forever fairly quickly--his first few AB, probably.

I know it won’t happen, but I’d like to see him traded back to the cardinals for some of those last plate appearances (but please, not more than 30 or so, please)

Just read that LaRussa had him walked intentionally, tying his season totals for 2019 and 2020 (2015 was the last time he reached 10 IBB). I can only assume I was on deck at the time.

Will ground into his 400th double play this season, the first player to ever do so.

Was intrigued by the IBB, so I looked it up:

Bottom of the 8th, Angels down by a run; two out, Trout on first, José Iglesias on deck. Pujols had homered earlier in the game.

I don't know Iglesias at all (sorry Andy K), but in a small sample last year (142 AB), he hit .373. Seems like a terrible move situationally: Pujols has to homer again to put L.A. ahead, a double from Iglesias will do it. As someone on the MLB site put it, La Russa still has his head in 2011.

It worked, though.

someone said the walk was to get the 3rd batter in before pulling the pitcher.

xp pujols won't even score from first on a triple

more alarming is putting the tying run into scoring position, of course

Is the 3-batter rule for relievers still in effect this season?

It is

more alarming is putting the tying run into scoring position, of course

Yeah, should have led with that--especially with Trout on 2nd. Didn't think about the third-batter rule (because I've been so disengaged post-pandemic, I didn't even know it was in effect).

BASERUNNING
SB: Pujols (1, 3rd base off Cody/Trevino)

!!

A. Pujols homered (420 ft.) to deep left center

Lol

Nice bittersweet Pujols post by Posnanski today in The Athletic.

The Los Angeles Angels are releasing future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols today, per sources. Pujols is in the final year of his 10-year, $253 million contract.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) May 6, 2021

― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:52 PM (two minutes ago)

i guess i will take this to Prince Albert Pujols, he reigneth but i really hope/expect that he will in a cardinals uniform for a few home games at the end

― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:54 PM (0 seconds ago)

His reigneth hath ended.

pic.twitter.com/dBWkkFdkxV

— Old Hoss Radbourn(e) (@OldHossRadbourn) May 6, 2021

releasing him was a gift, i guess, because it allows another team to start a new contract with him, right? probably much less than the $24M/yr he was making before.

unless some other team really does want his services for the rest of the year (for PR value i guess), i think the cardinals wouldn't add him onto the team until either they're out of contention or they've made the playoffs. the NL Central is mediocre and he really would make the team worse. it's too bad the DH wasn't added to the NL in time, i think they would actually pick him earlier if it were possible

He's about 180 RBI behind Aaron--probably would have caught him if he'd split the difference between then and now the past few years. Released on Willie Mays's 90th birthday, the last guy he passed on the HR list.

yea Covid robbed him of his chance at 700

yikes, apparently he was voicing his displeasure after not being played yesterday (in some matchup that would hypothetically be good for him or whatever), then released today. sheesh. maybe he really does want to just join some other team for a few more shitty months. i still think that at the end of the season they will make the STL reunion happen for at least a night

kinda wonder what’s driving him now. more counting stats? he’s a guaranteed hall of farmer and he’s super rich. is he not embarrassed by hitting .198? does he think he’s a swing tweak away from returning to the production of ten years ago? does he just really really like playing baseball, even poorly?

more counting stats?

it seems so fucking dumb/petty, but yeah, i think he very much wants to hit 700 or something? that's 33 more *gulp*

I'm always interested in non-baseball-media attention to baseball--lead story on what remains of CNN's sports coverage.