#TBT- Albert Pujols, 1B/DH, Los Angeles Angels
@Hoover__26 July 21
Let me start off this #TBT by giving you, dear reader, a task. Try to find a player with a JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) score as high as that of Albert Pujols that isn’t in the Hall of Fame. For the sake of time, I will go ahead and give you the answer. You would in fact locate two players who match that description. One of them is Barry Bonds, and the other is A-Rod (and we all know what’s up with them). Throw in the stipulation of having a career batting average of .300 and you will find Albert Pujols on that pedestal all by himself. Pujols is 3rd all time in MVP shares (behind only Bonds and Stan the Man), and is continuing to put up All-Star level numbers despite being in the twilight of a Hall of Fame career. He is on pace to top the 30 home run mark for the 14th time in his career (Pujols set the record with 13 in his first 15 years), and have his highest RBI total since his legendary 2009 campaign in which he hit 47 dingers (stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com). Pretty amazing stuff for a 36 year old who didn’t start playing DH until 2012 (it wasn’t his majority position until 2013).
Pujols currently sits at 26th in total fantasy points scored for non pitchers (the second oldest player in the top 30), and has had two games of over 20 fantasy points in his last four outings (espn.com). For someone who’s often thought of as a top 2 first baseman of all time (he and Lou Gehrig are often shuffled back and forth for the top spot) for what he did in his earlier career, he is certainly making a case for his later years being legendary as well. He was an All-Star last season with 40 home runs, 95 RBIs and a .244 batting average, and by the year’s end, he may end up having a better overall season (obviously with fewer homers, but more RBIs and a better batting average).
With an incredible offensive game making him one of baseball’s best ever, his defensive skills often slip through the cracks. Pujols is #1 on the active list in putouts and assists at first base (nearly cracking the top 10 in history in the latter category), and is in the top 25 all time in double plays turned as 1B. He also has a career .994 fielding percentage, which is .0001 away from putting him in the top 50 all time at his position. Pujols is also second all time in Total Zone Runs as 1B (behind only Keith Hernandez), and is one of only three players to reach the 100 plateau in that stat. He was also great at using his feared swing to draw walks, being second all time in intentional bases on balls and needing only one more to be only the second player ever to reach the 300 mark (Barry Bonds holds that record by over 300 at this point, so that’s pretty much unbreakable).
This week’s #TBT is perhaps the most legendary player in MLB history that is still actively smashing pitches over outfield walls. With every hit he gets, he further cements his legacy as a player for the ages (and brings him closer to the 3000 mark, with a few more seasons he could conceivably hit the mark in his career). Pujols has proved everyone who drafted him as the tenth fantasy first baseman this season wrong, and might just have a few more age defying seasons left in his Cooperstown-bound bat.
Pujols currently sits at 26th in total fantasy points scored for non pitchers (the second oldest player in the top 30), and has had two games of over 20 fantasy points in his last four outings (espn.com). For someone who’s often thought of as a top 2 first baseman of all time (he and Lou Gehrig are often shuffled back and forth for the top spot) for what he did in his earlier career, he is certainly making a case for his later years being legendary as well. He was an All-Star last season with 40 home runs, 95 RBIs and a .244 batting average, and by the year’s end, he may end up having a better overall season (obviously with fewer homers, but more RBIs and a better batting average).
With an incredible offensive game making him one of baseball’s best ever, his defensive skills often slip through the cracks. Pujols is #1 on the active list in putouts and assists at first base (nearly cracking the top 10 in history in the latter category), and is in the top 25 all time in double plays turned as 1B. He also has a career .994 fielding percentage, which is .0001 away from putting him in the top 50 all time at his position. Pujols is also second all time in Total Zone Runs as 1B (behind only Keith Hernandez), and is one of only three players to reach the 100 plateau in that stat. He was also great at using his feared swing to draw walks, being second all time in intentional bases on balls and needing only one more to be only the second player ever to reach the 300 mark (Barry Bonds holds that record by over 300 at this point, so that’s pretty much unbreakable).
This week’s #TBT is perhaps the most legendary player in MLB history that is still actively smashing pitches over outfield walls. With every hit he gets, he further cements his legacy as a player for the ages (and brings him closer to the 3000 mark, with a few more seasons he could conceivably hit the mark in his career). Pujols has proved everyone who drafted him as the tenth fantasy first baseman this season wrong, and might just have a few more age defying seasons left in his Cooperstown-bound bat.