Unless you live under a rock, by now you know that Alber Pujols hit home runs number 699 and 700 last night against the Dodgers with whom he spent the second half of last year. If you’re like me, you found out about Pujols reaching the milestone when you woke up and checked your phone since it happened 1) on the West Coast and 2) on fucking Apple TV which is a pain in the ass. Seriously. But the Apple TV thing is for another day. This blog is about Pujols. The Machine is now one of just four players in the 122-year history of Major League Baseball to hit 700 home runs and the first to reach the milestone, without any known steroid use, since Hank Aaron hit his 700th career long ball in 1973. Guys like him don’t come around very often, and we may not see anyone else join the 700 home run club for a long, long time.
Pujols was supposed to be an afterthought from a national perspective this year, with his farewell tour being the news-worthy item, not his performance on the field. The Cardinals signed their former face of the franchise to a modest 1-year deal for $2.5M that came with no guaranteed playing time. All he’s done during his age 41 season thus far is hit 21 home runs, drive in 58 and slash .265/338/530 through 101 games. Not bad for an afterthought.
All of this got me thinking. Does Albert get the recognition he deserves? Yeah, he’s a household name, a shoe in first-ballot Hall of Famer, and now the fourth member of the 700 home run club, but I’m not sure Albert Pujols get’s the attention he deserves.
The last player in the same stratosphere as Pujols to announce his retirement before his final season on the field was none other than my favorite baseball player ever, David Ortiz. The Big Papi farewell tour was very similar to Pujols’ with him being recognized at the All-Star game (although Ortiz earned his way to the mid-summer classic while Pujols was appointed by Manfred), and each player was given a gift during a pre-game ceremony by opposing teams before their last game in each stadium. Standard stuff when franchise icons retire.
But, as hard as it is for me to say this, David Ortiz is no Albert Pujols. Albert is on another level. In fact, I think Pujols deserved the retirement tour that Derek Sanderson Jeter (undeservingly) received in 2014.
“Re2pect” was EVERYWHERE that summer. It was impossible to watch any sports coverage without the “farewell Captain 2” commercial being blasted in your face. Hell, “Re2pect” was plastered across billboards and t-shirts in cities all across the country, not just New York. It was nauseating.
Don’t get me wrong. Jeter was a great player. He finished his career with five world series rings, was the face of the Yankees for 15 years, and is sixth all-time in hits with 3465. That hits number, though, is due in large part to the Yankees continuing to roll him out there, every damn day, during his final season despite his production not warranting the playing time. Entering the 2014 season, Jeter had 3316 hits, which put him in 10th place all time, one knock ahead of Eddie Collins and 15 ahead of the 3301 hits Albert Pujols started this season with (nine years later). One hundred and forty-five games of poor defense and a .256 batting average later, Jeter had climbed from 10th all-time to sixth. Simply put, Jeter played every day during his final year to compile lifetime stats for his plaque in Cooperstown and for the marketing angle. The Yankees (and MLB as a whole) loved the Jeter retirement tour, and I’m sure a lot of people made a lot of money on the dog and pony show.
Pujols, on the other hand, entered his final campaign with 3301 hits, 679 home runs, and no guaranteed playing time from the Cardinals, but has put up better numbers in his age 42-season as a part-time player on a team that’s going to win it’s division and has a legitimate shot at the NL pennant than Jeter did in 2014 as a 40-year-old on a .500 team.
Let me know if I’m wrong, but I haven’t seen any “Re5pect” billboards or t-shirts, nor have I seen any national TV commercials thanking Pujols for all he’s done for the game. In fact, there wasn’t much said about Pujols retiring this summer until he caught fire and FORCED the national media to cover his chase for 700 home runs. Quite the dichotomy compared to Jeter’s final year.
What I’m ultimately trying to say is that I think Albert Pujols is painfully underappreciated. The man is a 2x World Series champion, has 700 (and counting) home runs, a career batting average of .296, and has driven in 2208 runs during his 22-year career. Mix in his 3 MVPs (with four second-place finishes), 2 gold gloves, a batting title, and 11 all-star nods, and it sure seems like we’re looking at a top 10 all-time player.
I just wish he got the recognition he deserves.
#Re5pect
