If someone is older than he/she says, does it really affect their accomplishments?
This past week, on the cusp of 3,000 hits, Albert Pujols' age was called into question for what seems like the 300th time. Oh no, Pujols may be 40 instead of 38 years old! Break that news, baby. Do it now!
Here's the thing. I couldn't care less how old Pujols is. It doesn't affect the fact that he will go down as one of the best Cardinals to ever play the game and one of the most elite right-handed hitters to ever step on a baseball field. If he was older and managed to produce the way he did, the legend only grows in stature.
Pujols' age doesn't change the fact that he was a pudgy kid drafted in the 13th round by the Cardinals back in 1999 out of Kansas City. It doesn't change the fact that he hit 37 home runs with a ridiculous 1.013 OPS in his first Major League season back in 2001. It also doesn't change the fact that he will join fine company when he collects five more hits and joins the 3,000 hit club. When he drives in 68 more runs, Pujols will have 3,000 hits, 2,000 runs batted in, and 600+ home runs with a .300 career batting average. It would just be as sweet if he was 46 years old. I don't care.
2018 has featured a more spry Pujols. He's slimmer and more mobile in the field, playing first base more often for the Los Angeles Angels and making plays like this on a nightly basis.
I couldn't help but think about Pujols' two gold gloves last night when Jose Martinez opened the flood gate by letting a grounder slip under his glove, or when he fails to use the right foot to cover first base. It's not a direct knock on Martinez, who is still adjusting to the position, but a sincere remembrance of Pujols and how he played the position.
The Cardinals have lacked a stable first baseman since Pujols left for the West Coast after the 2011 season, leaving history books open on his way out. When Pujols demanded the moon and the Angels offered more than the Cardinals, his time in St. Louis came to an end. I was mad then, and then I realized the financial security the Cards acquired with his exit.
That doesn't mean I miss that sweet short swing any less. Pujols finished with an OPS (slugging percentage and on-base percentage combined) of 1.000 or greater in eight of his first ten seasons. Who does that? I don't think we will ever see another hitter like him, at least in my lifetime. You won't see a guy put together eleven seasons like the ones Pujols did in St. Louis. He's better than Miguel Cabrera, so stop asking. Cabrera goes to bed dreaming about being Pujols. Cabrera has a lifetime WAR of 69.3. Pujols has a 99.4 WAR with two extra seasons.
One of the things I tell Cardinals fans who ask about Pujols is that Los Angeles got a different Pujols when he arrived in 2012. Call it a different prototype or an altered version, but it wasn't the Pujols that helped close one Busch Stadium and establish its dominance in another. Cardinals fans own that for life. The bittersweet breakup between Pujols and the Cardinals doesn't hinder the impact, seven years later. Pujols never hit above .300 or put together an OPS of .900 or better once he left St. Louis.
If Major League Baseball could send the Angels to Busch Stadium before Pujols walks with a limp, that would be nice. Cardinals fans deserve that reconciliation, but so does baseball. The marriage between this player and this team is one of the best in the history of the game.
A late round draft pick coming out of nowhere when Bobby Bonilla got hurt, and dominating the Majors like few hitters before him ever did. Who does that? Albert does. Pujols was a million to one shot who became a legend in his sport. How many 13th round draft picks do half of what he's done?
Once again, that story doesn't lose any luster with me if Pujols is actually 40 years old instead of 38. Who cares? It's a minor blip on the news reel. Fake news if you will that only allows the morons to break open the case of whether or not Pujols used PED's.
The fact that he's never failed a test in his career bothers some who can't stand a clean, dominant hitter putting together a career amid so many frauds. I've always laughed at the people who swore Pujols used steroids or some other form of enhancer. They couldn't believe it. When confronted with someone or something majestic, the cynics always try to rip it down.
These days, Pujols is healthy, even if less dominant. He isn't what he used to be, but he's still got the ability to hurt a baseball. Five home runs, five doubles, and a .729 OPS won't thrill too many, but it's proof that an old Pujols can still swing it. Pujols doesn't walk as much and the gleam on his once shiny star power is dimming when placed next to the wondrous talent of Mike Trout.
I just hope Los Angeles appreciates and understands what they are witnessing, because it's a special thing. I hope they understand that a living legend is taking four at-bats a night and still making them rise to their feet. While his plate appearance won't elicit a halt to all activities like it once did, Pujols still deserves a large audience to watch him work. You'll miss it when it's gone. While he's lost the embrace from the sabermetrical community, Pujols has still got something to offer the game.
When Pujols does come back to Busch Stadium, stepping into the box and wiggling the bat before bringing it back high behind his body, I will be there with my Pujols jersey draped across my shoulders. I'll leave my cynical baseball journalist glasses at home and sit in the stands as a fan. Baseball is such a romantic sport that sometimes you have to give your entire self up to it, even if just for a night. When AP5 returns, that's what I will do. He deserves it.
He will retire as one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game, and he did it clean. How old he is shouldn't affect the legendary legacy he leaves behind.
