Albert Pujols wins Sporting News Award (update)
TOWER GROVE — Gathering award-season momentum, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was elected as Sporting News’ 2008 Player of the Year in a vote of 314 fellow players, the magazine announced Wednesday morning. To capture why Pujols was selected over other major leaguers, like Ryan Howard or Josh Hamilton, the magazine turned to the baseball person who knows him best.
His biggest fan. His boss.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.
“He is the classic complete player,” La Russa writes for Sporting News, in an edition that will reach bookstores and newsstands tomorrow. “I’ve never had a player who has a better attitude and understanding about why you’re in uniform. It’s a competition. Albert comes to the ballpark and he gets ready for the competition and to contribute in a complete way.”
Albert Pujols wins second postseason award in as many days.
Earlier this week, Pujols received the Players Choice Award as the NL Outstanding Player, and he is a finalist for two more Players Choice awards that will be announced this week. One of those is the Player of the Year award. The other finalists for that award are Manny Ramirez and Cliff Lee. While there was growing discussion about Ramirez’s candidacy for the NL MVP — especially aftering supercharging the LA Dodgers to a division title after his arrival — there was considerable sentiment that Ramirez, like Milwaukee ace CC Sabathia, would lack support because they didn’t spend the entire season in the National League.
Pujols chief competition for the award seems to be St. Louis native Ryan Howard, who led the majors in home runs and RBIs while also powering the Phillies to the NL East title.
Pujols numbers are known by heart now. He finished second in the league in batting. He hit 37 home runs and drove in 116 RBIs. He had 114 at-bats with runners in scoring position. He topped the majors in slugging percentage. Yadda. Yadda. Yowza. He is also a favorite to win his second Gold Glove at first base.
In a release from Sporting News editor Jeff D’Alessio, Sporting News states that Pujols “is on a trajectory to finish his career among the best to play the game.”
It continues:
At age 28, he has more homers (319) than Hank Aaron did at that age (298), a higher career batting average (.334) than Mickey Mantle (.307), more RBIs (977) than Frank Robinson (896) and more hits (1,531) than Lou Gehrig (1,350).
“You don’t want to disrespect other people, so to me, if you say Albert will be in the conversation of the greatest players to ever play the game, that’s enough,” La Russa writes for the magazine. “He doesn’t have to be the best, or two or three. All you need to know is, when you have that conversation of the greatest players of all time, Albert Pujols will be one of the guys you talk about.”
Pujols wins the Sporting News award for the second time in his career, and it is the eighth time a Cardinal has won the award since 1944. As far as Cardinals, only Stan Musial and Pujols have won the award more than once. The previous Cardinals to win it:
1944 … Marty Marion
1946 … Stan Musial
1951 … Stan Musial
1964 … Ken Boyer
1971 … Joe Torre
1974 … Lou Brock
2003 … Albert Pujols
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
If I made my comment on a general MLB board and not on a St. L one just about every response would agree with me.
Wade,
I am with Brian W. - Jason Bay - come one. I get A-rod, but not Bay. Incidentally, A-Rod has twice as many strike outs as Pujols since 2001. Certainly not the complete measure of who he is, but if I have to pick a guy to put at the plate in the bottom of the 9th in game seven of the World Series, Pujols is up for sure.
Jason Bay stats- BA - .282 , RBI 491 , HR - 149 in 771 games
Albert Pujols stats- BA - .334, RBI - 977 , HR - 319 1239 games.
Yeah Wade,,, I’ll say it,,, You’re an idiot.
“but if I have to pick a guy to put at the plate in the bottom of the 9th in game seven of the World Series” Sorry Brian but I have to go with Big Papi or Alfonso Soriono on that one.
I find that hard to believe honestly. While I’m not taking anything away from Bay, he is a great player, there is no way he can be in the same conversation as Albert. The only other player that could be today is A-Rod, which you mentioned. Bay doesn’t measure up to Pujols in numbers even though Bay is 30. (He also hasn’t been in the league as long as Pujols) I know some of that can be attributed to the fact he was in Pittsburgh for 4+ seasons but that is still a tough sell.
Jason Bay??? you can’t be serious! Forget for a moment that with a similar age Jason’s numbers don’t begin to approach ALbert’s and their other intangibles….
Check this:
games at bats Runs Hits 2b 3b hr rbi ba
Pujols 8 year average 155 572 118 191 43 2 40 122 .344
Jason Bay Career high 162 599 111 183 44 6 35 109 .282
Sorry they don’t align but the bottom line is this: Jason is a fine player but his career year numbers are below Albert’s average. Albert is a career .344 hitter; Jason is at .282 and has never hit in any single year, Albert’s career average.
Wade
Do you even watch baseball? You would take Soriano in the bottom of the 9th in the World Series? Why don’t you take a gander at Soriano’s postseason numbers and see if you still would make that decision.
Jason Bay’s numbers aren’t even close, not even in the same league as Pujols’. A-Rod fine, but Bay? That’s a laugh. Bay has a .282/.375/.516 line compared to Pujols’ .334/.425/.624 averages. Bay is a good player but he isn’t even in Pujols’ league.
Im not saying one is better than the other, they are both good players. Lets just leave it at that, there is no need for immature name calling.
“but if I have to pick a guy to put at the plate in the bottom of the 9th in game seven of the World Series, Sorry Brian but I have to go with Big Papi or Alfonso Soriono on that one.”
Big Papi was real clutch this year, wasn’t he. And, he’s so great on the defensive end of things. Then, the truly wonderous statement. You’d rather have Alphonso Soriano at the plate in the 9th inning of Game 7 than Pujols? Why, because you want a quick strikeout? Have you ever seen Soriano at the plate? When he’s not hot, he might be the one guy you don’t want at the plate…in all of baseball. Have you seen him in the playoffs? He’s been absolutely, positively, pathetic with the Cubs. Maybe, you should sober up before you blog.