Outfielder/Third
Baseman/First Baseman, St. Louis Cardinals
Age: 21
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 240
Prior to 2001:
A native of
Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Pujols immigrated to Independence,
Missouri with his father and grandmother at age 16. Impressive in high school
and after attending Metropolitan Community College – Maple Woods, he was
drafted by the Cardinals in the 1999 amateur draft. He spent most of 2000 with
the Peoria Chiefs of the Class A Midwest League and batted .324 with 32
doubles, 17 home runs, and 84 RBIs, earning quick advancement to the Carolina
League and Memphis of the Pacific Coast League to finish out the year. He
primarily played third base in his quick rise through the minors. Entering 2001
he was expected to be a reserve but played his way into the lineup.
2001 Season Summary
Appeared in 161
games
3B – 55, 1B – 42,
RF – 39, LF – 39, DH – 2, PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 676 [17]
At Bats – 590 [18]
Runs – 112 [13]
Hits – 194 [5]
Doubles – 47 [5]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 37
[11, tied with Brian Giles & Rich Aurilia]
RBI – 130 [5,
tied with Jeff Bagwell]
Bases on Balls
– 69
Int. BB – 6
Strikeouts – 93
Stolen Bases – 1
Caught Stealing
– 3
Average - .329
[6]
OBP - .403 [11]
Slugging Pct. -
.610 [7]
Total Bases – 360
[7]
GDP – 21 [5]
Hit by Pitches
– 9
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 7
[17, tied with six others]
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 18, HR – 21, RBI – 66, AVG - .323, SLG - .594, OBP - .391
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Most hits, game
– 3 on twelve occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 17 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) at Houston 4/22, (in 4 AB) vs. Milwaukee 5/28
HR at home – 18
HR on road – 19
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Milwaukee 9/18, at Pittsburgh 9/21
Pinch-hitting –
0 for 2 (.000)
Fielding (OF)
Chances – 139
Put Outs – 128
Assists – 6
Errors – 5
DP - 0
Pct. - .964
Postseason
Batting: 5 G (NLDS vs. Arizona)
PA – 20, AB – 18,
R – 1, H – 2, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .111, OBP - .200, SLG -.278, TB – 5, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– 0
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
Silver Slugger
All-Star
4th in
NL MVP voting (222 points, 50% share)
NL ROY Voting:
Albert Pujols,
StL.: 160 points – 32 of 32 first place votes, 100% share
Roy Oswalt, Hou.:
82 points – 51% share
Jimmy Rollins,
Phila.: 44 points – 28% share
Adam Dunn, Cin.:
1 point – 1% share
Bud Smith, StL:
1 point – 1% share
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Cardinals went 93-69
to finish tied for first in the NL Central Division with the Houston Astros, who won the
division title due to the head-to-head tiebreaker, thus relegating St. Louis to second place and the Wild Card playoff slot. The Cardinals stumbled in June and were a
disappointing 43-43 at the All-Star break. A 12-1 stretch from late August into
September that included a no-hitter by rookie LHP Bud Smith pulled the club
into contention. In addition to his slugging prowess, Pujols displayed versatility
in filling four positions. Lost NLDS to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3 games to 2.
Aftermath of ‘01:
Playing primarily in left field in 2002 following his outstanding rookie season, Pujols again produced impressively at the plate, batting .314 with a .394 on-base percentage along with 40 doubles, 34 home runs, and 127 RBIs. He placed second in league MVP voting. Settling in at first base in 2003, Pujols was an All-Star for the second time as he topped the National League in runs scored (137), hits (212), doubles (51), batting (.359), and total bases (394). He again was the runner-up for MVP in the NL and received a Silver Slugger. He also proved to be a good fit defensively at first base. The Cardinals topped the NL Central and won the league pennant in 2004 as Pujols again led the NL in runs scored (133) and total bases (389) to go along with 51 doubles, 46 home runs, 123 RBIs, a .331 average,.415 OBP, and a .657 slugging percentage. This time he placed third in MVP balloting. In the postseason Pujols was the MVP of the NLCS win over Houston with his .500 average, 4 home runs, and 9 RBIs in the seven games. St. Louis again won the NL Central title in 2005 but came up short against Houston in the NLCS. Pujols topped the league in runs scored (129) while batting .330 with 41 home runs, 117 RBIs, a .430 OBP, and a .609 slugging percentage. This time he also gained selection as the NL MVP. The Cardinals topped the NL Central in 2006 with a mediocre 83-78 record, which was only the fifth best in the league, and went on to win the NL pennant and the World Series. Pujols had a typically productive season, leading the league in slugging (.671) while hitting .331 with 49 home runs, 137 RBIs, and a .431 OBP. He even received a Gold Glove for his defensive performance at first base while placing second in league MVP voting. In a down year for the team in 2007 in the wake of the improbable championship season, Pujols remained a steady force in the lineup batting .327 with 32 home runs, 103 RBIs, a .429 OBP, and a .568 slugging percentage. He received MVP recognition for a second time in 2008 as he hit .357 with 44 doubles, 37 home runs, 116 RBIs, a .462 OBP, and NL-leading totals in slugging (.653) and total bases (342). Pujols repeated as NL MVP in 2009, leading the league in runs scored (124), home runs (47), OBP (.443), slugging percentage (.658), and total bases (374) while batting .327 with 45 doubles and 135 RBIs. In the field he recorded a record 185 assists at first base. With the Cardinals trying to lock up their star first baseman with a contract extension (which failed) he had another excellent season in 2010, topping the NL in runs scored (115), home runs (42), and RBIs (118) while hitting .312 with a .414 OBP and .596 slugging percentage. He placed second in league MVP voting. The wild card-qualifying Cardinals won the NL pennant and the World Series in 2011 with Pujols contributing 37 home runs, 99 RBIs, a .299 average, .366 OBP, and .541 slugging percentage. He had a three-home run, 6-RBI performance in Game 3 of the World Series against Texas. A free agent in the offseason, he rejected a 10-year, $210 million offer from the Cardinals and signed with the Los Angeles Angels for 10 years and $254 million. Off to a slow start with his new club in 2012 that had home fans booing him, he rallied to finish at .285 with 50 doubles, 30 home runs, 105 RBIs, a.343 OBP, and a .516 slugging percentage. In the offseason he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Pujols followed up with a poor season in 2013 in which a foot injury limited him to 99 games and he hit .258 with 17 home runs, 64 RBIs, and a .330 OBP. He was utilized primarily as a Designated Hitter. Pujols performed better in 2014, appearing more regularly at first base and batting .272 with 37 doubles, 28 home runs, 105 RBIs, and a .324 OBP. Hitting well in 2015, Pujols was among the American League’s home run leaders in June and was an All-Star for the only time with the Angels. Although hindered by a foot injury that required offseason surgery, he hit .244 for the year with 40 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a .307 OBP while appearing in 157 games (95 t first base and 62 as a DH due to the foot injury). Primarily a DH in 2016, Pujols batted .268 with 31 home runs, 119 RBIs, and a .323 on-base percentage. He had one last 100-RBI season in 2017 (totaling 101) and his production continued to dwindle until he was dealt to the Dodgers during the 2021 season. A free agent in the offseason Pujols returned to the Cardinals for one last season in 2022 where, with the universal DH now in play, the 42-year-old could continue to contribute with his bat. As of the 2022 All-Star break, his major league totals are a .296 average with 3333 hits that include 678 doubles, 16 triples, and 685 home runs. He has scored 1889 runs and compiled 2170 RBIs and drawn 1361 walks. His OBP is .374 and his slugging percentage is .541. Usually able to make contact during his at bats, his strikeout total of 1380 includes no 100-strikeout seasons, a rarity for sluggers in the modern era. With the Cardinals his totals are a .326 batting average with 2105 hits, 461 doubles, 15 triples, 451 home runs, 1349 RBIs, a .418 OBP, a .611 slugging percentage, and 991 walks drawn. Pujols has appeared in 86 postseason games and hit .321 with 19 home runs and 54 RBIs. An 11-time All-Star, he has received six Silver Sluggers. Along with winning three MVP awards, he has finished in the top 10 eleven times.
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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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