Route66

April 10th, 2011 at 10:36 PM ^

Very nice piece.  I sure hope he's as clean as they say.*  What a breathe of fresh air, thanks for sharing!

*It's too bad I even have to say that.

Paly33

April 10th, 2011 at 10:40 PM ^

I doubt he was clean. In my opinion he looked like he was on some HGH at one point. But I definitely respect the mans game, one of the purest hitters in the game.

Maximinus Thrax

April 11th, 2011 at 7:11 AM ^

Big Papi and Manny?  The PED party is not over yet,  and Pujols still has plenty of time to mess up.  If he ever did indeed juice (an accusation which is baseless at this point and consists of mere speculation) then he can be expected to continue doing so to avoid the inevitable slump that would follow curtailing drug use at this point.  This increases the likelihood that he will be caught over time.  I do hope he is clean though, just so we can have one great hitter taht is not somewhat tainted.  However, I do have my doubts.

artds

April 11th, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^

Even if he is clean, I don't know how much you can credit a guy simply for being big enough that he doesn't have to take steroids in order to compete at the highest level. If that same guy were 75 lbs lighter, who knows what decisions his ambition would drive him to make.

jmblue

April 11th, 2011 at 6:16 PM ^

Just being big doesn't guarantee bat speed or the ability to properly judge pitch location.  Besides, if he didn't take PEDs, wouldn't he have had to have worked harder than ever to have built that physique?

twohooks

April 10th, 2011 at 10:37 PM ^

Is an All Star off the field too. We can talk all day about Bonds, A-Rod and Canseco but I believe there are many good-hearted charitable men in the game that do not get discussed who believe their job is a priveledge and give back. Brandon Inge, another shining gem, has given quite a bit of time and exposure to Mott Children's. I agree that Pujols is genuinely a good person and great player but we need to point the finger at baseball traditional bungled top brass management before cast innocent providers of good unto a sea of scum.

Michigan4Life

April 11th, 2011 at 12:24 AM ^

Albert Pujols BABIP is .149 which is below MLB average of .297.  He is extremely unlucky in that regard, expect his BA to go back up to .300.

 

I got a better investment in Troy Tulowitzki in which I got a steal at 7th overall pick(crazy considering that I have him as the 3rd best player in the draft and he plays on a premium position, SS).  His BABIP is extremely low at .100 so I'm not worried about his early season slump and he already yield me 3 HRs so that offset the BA for now.

4godkingandwol…

April 10th, 2011 at 11:44 PM ^

... I recall everybody was talking about how classy a guy Pete Carrol was for his work with inner city kids after the piece they did on him.  Where was all his class the second things started going south at USC?  Bolted for the pros. 

03 Blue 07

April 11th, 2011 at 12:21 AM ^

Red herring. Admittedly, I'm a Cardinals fan, and have followed Pujols his entire career. But the stuff in th 60 Minutes piece on him isn't news to anyone who has followed his career and/or lived in the St. Louis area; it's just the rest of the country that's apprently finding out what kind of guy he is off-the-field now. FWIW, I bristle at just the mention of Pete Carroll in the same breath as Albert Pujols. Apples to oranges.

Oh, and I think it's ludicrous that the Cardinals disn't even offer him top-5 money before the season. I understand a hometown discount, but not a hometown low ball. If we lose him because of it, the organization has no one to blame but themselves. That offer was insulting.

03 Blue 07

April 11th, 2011 at 12:34 AM ^

Yeah, I mean, it would defensibile, I suppose, if they offered him, say, less than A-Rod, but still, say, 20 mil a year or something. From what I gather, that's not what they offered him at all- the deal would've made him between the 5th and 10th highest-paid player in baseball. That, to me, is bullshit. There are a decent amount of Cardinals fans who were pissed that he turned it down, but their logic is flawed when you flesh it out; they usually say, "what does it matter? He already is a gazillionaire," to which I respond, "it's really about principle. Would you be cool with other people at your work getting more money than you for doing a shittier job? Would you take a "hometown discount" to stay at your job? Would you think it fair in such a situation, or would you be insulted/pissed?" They usually see it my way after that.

Rabbit21

April 11th, 2011 at 7:47 AM ^

I think teams deal hard with players that are represented by Boras. They assume he's going to ask for the moon and try to anchor him. Thing is, it never works because Boras is an asshole but effective. While I'm glad there are teams that now refuse to deal with him, it's always fascinating to watch his high-profile negotiations.

buckeyeh8er

April 11th, 2011 at 4:14 PM ^

Pujols is a great player even if he is the double play king.  Look at the stats its pretty bad.  Also, all of this talk about him being a great guy is a little far fetched if you ask me.  I used to work for the Cardinals and would watch him before every game.  Only one time did I see him joke around or anything with someone that was not a player and that was mostly because the guy had a soccer ball and he wanted to borrow it so they could play.  I understand that he gets swarmed when he signs autographs but even during the autograph days he rushes through it and only stops for a couple random pics and usually it was the vets or those in wheelchairs where David Eckstein would come out 45 mins before and leave 45 mins after Pujols just to make sure he signed as much stuff as possible and shook as many hands as possible.  Is Pujols a good guy, yeah but not to the extreme that people think.  For the people around St. Louis they do love him and try to put up with his wife.  I do have to say that I do like the fact that he married a woman with a disabled child.  I know it may not seem like a big deal to some but for a major league baller thats a pretty solid character move.  And thats how the cookie crumbles!!!

ixcuincle

April 11th, 2011 at 5:52 PM ^

Was not aware he was on 60 minutes. He's a good guy

Will watch, thanks for the news

 

Edit: seen it, very charitable and good guy. I've heard of those stories before today of his work with Downs Syndrome kids. Love the story about him taking the bat to the Houston hospital.

Good guy.