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. 
OK Wade, how about you provide some support for your claim of how Jason Bay is as good a player as Albert Pujols. I even give you some good comparisons
career batting average
Bay - .282
Pujols - .334
(ouch 52 points)
seasons with a sub .300 batting average
Bay - 4
Pujols - 0
seasons with a .300 or better batting average
Bay - 1
Pujols - 8
(PS Bay’s BEST avg is .306, Pujols’ WORST is .314)
career SLG%
Bay - .516
Pujols - .624
(ouch 108 points)
seasons with a sub .600 SLG%
Bay - 5
Pujols - 2
seasons with a SLG% of .600 or better
Bay - 0
Pujols - 6
career avg OPS
Bay - .891
Pujols - 1.049
(ouch 158 points)
seasons with OPS over 1.000
Bay - 0
Pujols - 6
career avg OPS+
Bay - 130
Pujols - 170
(ouch 40 points)
seasons with an OPS+ over 150
Bay - 0
Pujols - 8
top 10 MVP vote
Bay - 0
Pujols - 7
And from baseball-reference player page for each player some HOF comparitive stats
Black Ink: Batting (avg HOFer=27)
Bay - 1
Pujols - 24
Gray Ink: Batting (avg HOFer=144)
Bay - 26
Pujols - 163
HOF Standards:Batting (avg HOFer = 50
Bay - 20
Pujols - 42.4
HOF Monitor: Batting (Likely HOFer > 100)
Bay - 35.5
Pujols - 189
the floor is yours Wade, lets see some dazzle from you on how Jason Bay is just as good as Albert Pujols
(btw have you missed some of the articles written by sports journalists who have no affiliation with St Louis in any way shape or form (like Jayson Stark, Peter Gammons and Tim Kurkjian) about Albert Pujols and how he compares with the all time greats of the game? Can you link us to any similiar articles written about Jason Bay?)
Wade- “and I wouldnt even say that he is better than guys like Jason Bay or ARod yet.”
Not even sure if YOU know what you’re talking about anymore. Don’t start backtracking now. Better yet, don’t start if you don’t have the proof to back up your wacky conclusions!
SORIANO???
Now THAT is funny!!! Ever take a LOOK at Soriano’s postseason numbers??? Obviously not
career postseason for Soriano .213/.263/.299/.562
and he was REALLY bad in 2008 getting ONE hit in 14 AB for a .071 avg.
Bernie,
Don’t know. At the end of the season, it seemed like voters really had to search for alternatives to Pujols. But, I didn’t have that vote. I had Cy Young. You and me. People can bring their criticisms, their complaints, their ridicule for the Cy Young Award here …
I’ll try to be ready.
dg
Craig I hope you did not spend to much time writing and researching because i did not read that haha.
Of course you didn’t, Wade. Ignorance is bliss.
BTW Wade, here are the postseason stats for both Ortiz and Pujols
Ortiz .293/.401/.543/.944
Pujols .323/.429/.593/1.022
P.S. Just saw SLPW’s comment, so I see the criticism has already started. An idiot I am by osmosis or membership. Whichever. Swell. Mom would be proud. Track record, I contend, says otherwise — for the group and individual.
Here is a stat for you Craig
Pujols- 1 ring
Ortiz- 2 rings
maybe you need to rewind your tape of the 2004 WS to see who is more clutch.
OK Wade, I will simplify it for you
“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.”
is true then how do you explain Pujols being in the top 10 in MVP voting every season(7), top 5 in 6 seasons(including his first 4 seasons), winning the MVP in 2005 and Jason Bay not cracking the top 10 in any his 4 full seasons and not cracking the top 25 in 2 of his 4 seasons?