SOUTH GRAND — His second MVP trophy and upfront comments about the drug cloud over baseball put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the baseball star who can be trusted. His April surge made him the National League Player of the Month and the topic of local watercooler chatter: Could he be the one to win a Triple Crown? And now St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols finds himself on another cover of a national magazine.

He’s Sporting News’ No.1 Player in Baseball, according to a panel of experts polled by the magazine.

Pujols “is the best hitter in baseball right now,” Frank Robinson told Sporting News, according to a release from the magazine this morning. “But also, you could put him at any position - first, third, outfield - and he could play it like an All-Star. That’s why he’s the top player in the game.”

The Cardinals first baseman was the “runaway winner”, according to editor Jeff D’Alessio. Pujols received 55 first-place votes from the panel of about 100 former players, writers and baseball folk. The panel included such former Cardinals as Larry Walker and Andy Benes, and it included Hall of Famers like Robinson, Stan Musial, Tony Gwynn, Willie McCovey, Tom Seaver and Brooks Robinson. Thirteen Hall of Famers were on the panel, 12 league MVPs and 13 former Cy Young Award winners, like Greg Maddux.

The top 10 players in baseball according to the panel:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Johan Santana
4. Manny Ramirez
5. Hanley Ramirez
6. Chase Utley
7. Roy Halladay
8. Derek Jeter
9. Mariano Rivera
10. Chipper Jones

St. Louis native Ryan Howard finished 11th in the voting. Pujols was the only Cardinal to make the list. The New York Mets had the most players on the list with six. According to a release from the team, panelists were given a description to use when voting on the “greatest players” in the game:

Panelists were asked to determine what greatness meant to them and vote accordingly. Many of the former pitchers placed a higher premium on that aspect; others favored hitting, leadership, defense or a combination thereof. Panelists were also instructed to vote for the greatest players in today’s game, not the current players who’ve necessarily had the greatest careers. Hanley Ramirez, in just his fourth full major league season, was the youngest player to make the top 10 (25).

The entire package, which includes a lineup card written by Boston manager Terry Francona, will be in the next edition of the Sporting News. The cover, featuring Pujols, is pasted below.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is the magazine's No. 1 player in baseball in annual poll.

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