Offensively, Albert Pujols pretty much single-handedly won the game for the Cardinals today against the Indians. They had some good pitching from Brad Thompson and their committee of relievers they trotted out there who kept Cleveland to just one run.
But Pujols went 3 for 4 with a double and two homeruns. That gives him 22 for the year. If you take the trouble to pro-rate that out for 2009, he would have somewhere around 57 homeruns at this pace. That would eclipse his current career record by eight.
I was playing APBA baseball against my buddy Mike, who is a Cardinal fan while watching today’s game. We talked a bit about Pujols’ future and even hypothetically wondered to ourselves, “still in his 20s, would Albert get in the Hall if he retired today?”
Putting aside the 10 year requirement, you really could have a case. With 341 homers, 1304 rbis, 997 runs and a .334 batting average, those numbers put him up there. His rbi numbers are already above the average HOFer though admittedly Evers, Maranville and company do adjust the curve a bit.
But Pujols won’t retire and at age 29, he does have the potential to break some serious records.
Food for thought.
Disclaimer: don’t get the wrong idea… the author is a Cub fan