Jose Alberto Pujols also known as Prince Albert, Phat Albert, and my favorite THE MACHINE! Over Albert's 12 year career he has been one of the most consistent hitters in the entire league. He is always around a .300 average, 30 plus home runs, 100 plus runs batted in, and 170 hits per year. He has won the Most Valuable Player award three times in his eleven year tenure with the Saint Louis Cardinals. He is an annual top 5 MVP candidate being in the top 5 ten of twelve times in voting including his rookie campaign finishing fourth! He won back to back Most Valuable Player awards from 2008-09. Albert has been a leading force for St. Louis winning two World Series with them. He was one of their best players ever! That is saying something too considering who has played for the Cardinals. He ranks among Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Mark McGwire, and Rogers Hornsby. Pujols is no slouch on the defensive end. He is a two-time Gold Glove winner. This past season he divorced his long time love of St. Louis to head to a bigger named city like Los Angeles. He struggled in his first season with the Angels. His home run power was lacking, his average was at a career low, and he was not stroking the ball like normal. He was still getting accustomed to the American League. Once he found his groove, he was back on pace to being the big time investment that the Angels were looking for. Albert shocked the baseball world when he signed his huge contract. He signed a 10 year, $240 million dollar contract. In his last season he will be 41 years young. I understand his value now and when they signed him, but to pay a player $28 and $30 million when he is 40 and 41 years old, in my mind is too much. I do not see how they expect him to still produce for that worth, at that age. He is a great player now and a year after year MVP candidate. The Angels for sure expect him to be because they have him locked up for a long, long time.
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