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. 
Dont be sorry Fuhrig, WSW wasnt smart enouph to pick up on that one haha
Wade wrote”I just feel however that it is pre mature to consider him one of the best ever” Well you see Wade, when you FIRST made that comment all the way back on page 1, the 5th comment posted in this thread NO ONE had said Pujols was one of the best ever, the Sporting News author said “Pujols is on a trajectory to finish his career among the best to play the game.” Notice the KEY words trajectory to finish not he is NOW one of the best ever
You also made the ridiculous comment that Pujols wasn’t better than Jason Bay (something you have pointedly and repeatedly declined from making even a FEEBLE attempt at supporting)
Wade wrote “I dont understand why you all think that I am hating on Pujols”
Please clarify for us how one should interpret these words written by YOU
Wade wrote at 8:27am Oct 23, 2008 “the thing with Pujols is that he puts up these monster numbers in the most meaningless situations. For example his team will be winning or losing by like 5-10 runs and he will hit some garbage homers. And in the late innings of close games, forget about him. He might as well not even be in the line up.”
Thats not “hating on Pujols”? Explain
Craig thats not hating………its the truth
Truth can be proven, where is your proof Wade?
I dont have time to look up all the numbers because im at work but if you look up Bays postseason numbers and compare them with Pujols you will see who is better in the clutch
And what does Jason Bay have to do with you proving ““the thing with Pujols is that he puts up these monster numbers in the most meaningless situations. For example his team will be winning or losing by like 5-10 runs and he will hit some garbage homers. And in the late innings of close games, forget about him. He might as well not even be in the line up.”
Seems the ONLY question there is about Albert Pujols and how he performs in the late innings of close games.
let me refresh your memory
close & late - PA in the 7th or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck.
Pujols career stats - close & late
.315/.440/.615/1.055
“Dont be sorry Fuhrig, WSW wasnt smart enouph to pick up on that one haha”
- Wade
Um, yeah, Wade, he missed the fact that I was making fun of you. Don’t gloat. Sheesh.
and thank you for ignoring my great and valid point.