Albert Pujols has expressed before his wish to remain a Cardinal well into the future, but on Thursday in his native Dominican Republic he offered something new, something more immediate: A timetable.
"I hope that before the season begins I get an extension," Pujols told reporters during a news conference in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Pujols, who turns 31 in January, has one year remaining on his contract, and the organization has said a priority this winter is discussing an extension with Pujols that makes him, in the words of chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., a "Cardinal for life" before reaching free agency. According to an Associated Press report from the Dominican, Pujols told reporters there that he would like to spend the rest of his career with the Cardinals.
"But," he is quoted as saying, "that is something that I cannot control."
Less than a week after the end of the regular season, the Cardinals exercised their $16-million option on Pujols' contract for 2011. By triggering the option, the Cardinals brought the total value of the contract Pujols' signed in February 2004 to $116 million over eight years. While both the Cardinals and Pujols' representatives have chosen their words carefully when describing the deal it will take to re-sign Pujols, one Cardinals executive said last year that "it will obviously take this organization places it hasn't gone before."
Pujols is a candidate for this fourth National League MVP, what would be his third consecutive. He led the NL with 42 home runs and 118 RBIs to become the first Cardinal to win two jewels in the Triple Crown since Mark McGwire in 1998. Pujols is one of five players since 1937 to lead the NL in batting, homers and RBIs for a season at least once in their careers.
The Cardinals' first baseman told reporters Thursday that he felt 2010 was his best season. That is a sentiment he expressed before the end of the season when describing the inconsistent start he overcame to reach MVP-like production.
"Personally it was a great season," Pujols said, according to AP, "but I feel bad because my team did not make it to the playoffs."
Pujols also told reporters that McGwire, now the Cardinals' hitting coach, "does not get the credit he deserves as the great batting coach that he is."
Factored into the value of his current contract, Pujols has had several trips to the Dominican as a representative of the Cardinals. He also has made annual trips in recent years as part of the work for his charitable organization, The Pujols Family Foundation. In the coming weeks, Pujols will be visiting a village to host a baseball clinic with the players in a league the foundation has formed there. St. Louis-based sporting goods company Rawlings and others donated equipment for the youth teams, and Pujols' foundation helped acquire and clear the land for a baseball diamond.
This past season, Pujols grew increasingly tired of questions about his contract, repeatedly declining to discuss it during the final week of the season. He had his representatives instruct the Cardinals that he did not want to negotiate a deal during the season, and both sides have agreed not to disclose the start or details of negotiations publicly.
Pujols' comments Thursday suggest that he may follow a similar script this season, insisting that any negotiations be completed before the start of the 2011 season or be tabled until after the season. His public comments have been consistent that he would consider signing an extension with the Cardinals, if possible, before reaching free agency next November.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told the Post-Dispatch last month that an extension with Pujols is not necessary before plunging into other goals this offseason. He said the plan is "to engage Albert and his agent in talks at some point. ... When the time comes to engage, hopefully every side is prepared. I certainly think preparation is critical."
