Albert Pujols is no longer the best player in baseball. He may not even be the best player on his own team. Fact is, when your as good as Pujols has been over an extended period of time eventually someone will come along and take the crown. Now all he has to do is hit somewhere around 30 home runs, knock in 100 RBI and the records will come toppling down one by one.
Pujols hit his 499th and 500th career home runs last night at Nationals Park, becoming the 26th player in MLB history to accomplish the milestone. He is now the third youngest player in MLB history to hit his 500th home run. Pujols is only the ninth member of this prestigious club to boast a 300 career average.
Pujols is the only player to begin his career with ten consecutive 30 home run, 100 RBI seasons. He missed out on the 11th year by only one RBI. Since joining the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 Pujols hasn't looked invincible for the first time in his career. He experienced the worst stretch of his career to begin his tenure in Los Angeles. It wasn't until mid-season that he began to return to MVP form, finishing the year with 30 home runs and eclipsing the 100 RBI plateau once again.
2013 was the first injury riddled season of Pujols career. He suited up for only 99 games. His previous career low was 143 back in 2006. He finished last season with a career low 17 home runs and 64 RBI.
This year Pujols is off to a sizzling start. He has hit 8 home runs and knocked in 19 RBI during the first 20 games of the season. This is the type of production Angels management envisioned when they signed Pujols to a lucrative contract almost three years ago.
If Pujols can stay healthy he has a realistic shot at surpassing Barry Bonds as the home run king. He has an outside shot at becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 800 career home runs. As Pujols continues to devour the record books PED allegations will be thrown around more and more. In this day and age that comes with the territory. For Pujols sake I hope his career doesn't end up resembling Alex Rodriguez's.
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