Pujols appreciation thread

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

For those in Cardinals land, where do you rank Albert in the all time Cardinals list? Is he a rushmore player? From the outside looking in, I would say yes. Perhaps Musial, Gibson, Ozzie and Albert? would one of those get bumped for Lou Brock? It would be open and shut had Pujols played for STL his whole career.

The four Cardinals that immediately come to mind when thinking of a Mount Rushmore list would be: Albert, Stan, Gibby, and maybe Ozzie.

I’m firm on the first three, but Ozzie could potentially be subbed out. Just my opinion.

Albert is firmly in the highest-tier of all-time Cardinals.

[hatchd]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

For those in Cardinals land, where do you rank Albert in the all time Cardinals list? Is he a rushmore player? From the outside looking in, I would say yes. Perhaps Musial, Gibson, Ozzie and Albert? would one of those get bumped for Lou Brock? It would be open and shut had Pujols played for STL his whole career.

Musial and Pujols tied at the top, Gibson right behind them, Ozzie or Molina finishing off the list. Hornsby is probably on a lot of people's list, I just don't put as much weight in stats from before the Great Depression.

Anyone who doesn't have Pujols up there is still just pissy that he left. They'd probably be more pissed if he stayed and played like he did with the Angels. No pleasing those people.


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[dcbaseballcards]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

For those in Cardinals land, where do you rank Albert in the all time Cardinals list? Is he a rushmore player? From the outside looking in, I would say yes. Perhaps Musial, Gibson, Ozzie and Albert? would one of those get bumped for Lou Brock? It would be open and shut had Pujols played for STL his whole career.

It's easily Musial/Pujols at the top, Bob Gibson as #3, and then it depends on your generation between Ozzie Smith and Lou Brock. Rogers Hornsby is easily top 4 based on stats. Molina based on recency bias.


Then there's the secret Mount Rushmore for Willie McGee, Ray Lankford, Matt Carpenter, and David Freese

[daveyc1]

ahhh, I forgot Hornsby. that guy was a monster. he deserves the STL rushmore in my opinion.

I am surprised that Gibby doesnt get more love. I would have him at a solid 2. great career, lifelong Cardinal, possibly the single greatest season of all time, solidly in the very tippy top handful of greatest postseason pitchers of all time.

As an outsider to Cardinals land, I would rank him the 2nd all time Cardinal. Is it possible that recency bias is creeping in with Albert? Am I missing something?

[Wade Mulroy]

If I had it my way, I’d stick McGwire as my #4 on Cardinals Mt Rushmore, but I realize that’s a spicy take

[hatchd]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

ahhh, I forgot Hornsby. that guy was a monster. he deserves the STL rushmore in my opinion.

I am surprised that Gibby doesnt get more love. I would have him at a solid 2. great career, lifelong Cardinal, possibly the single greatest season of all time, solidly in the very tippy top handful of greatest postseason pitchers of all time.

As an outsider to Cardinals land, I would rank him the 2nd all time Cardinal. Is it possible that recency bias is creeping in with Albert? Am I missing something?

I think the top 3 could all be #1 depending on your personal opinion. Most people will place more emphasis on hitters than pitchers just because they play every day. I think most people would be ok with any order of Pujols/Musial/Gibson as the top 3, but trying to sneak anyone else in there would be considered blasphemy to most.

As far as Albert - I don't think it's recency bias. He had about the best 10 year stretch that basically anyone alive has ever seen. I'd take that 10 year run over the entire career of Brock, Ozzie, etc.


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[daveyc1]

Albert was fantastic, for sure. Also was a beast in the post season.

I always wondered what would have happened had he not left STL. Would his decline have not been so sharp? was it injuries, change of scenery? I just dont know. could he have hit 100 more home runs? He had a great 2022 as a 42 year old when he returned to STL.

I guess I will always have the what if with Albert.

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

Albert was fantastic, for sure. Also was a beast in the post season.

I always wondered what would have happened had he not left STL. Would his decline have not been so sharp? was it injuries, change of scenery? I just dont know. could he have hit 100 more home runs? He had a great 2022 as a 42 year old when he returned to STL.

I guess I will always have the what if with Albert.

I think it would’ve been a bit of a disaster, considering he’d have to play 1st base if they wanted to keep him in the lineup.

I know a lot of fans were hurt when he left (myself included), but it was the best move for everyone involved. Him coming back to hit 700 in a Cardinals uni and having the ability to DH was the best possible scenario.

I imagine Albert wouldn’t be nearly as beloved had he hobbled around St Louis all through the 2010s and consuming hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.

St Louis literally got all the best years out of Albert without any of the baggage that LA had to deal with.

[ScooterD]

He was the best hitter I have seen in my lifetime (I’m b. 1979) - my opinion only.

I just worry what happens to his legacy if the rumors of him being older than reported are proven correct in the future. I don’t know if we have much of a litmus test - or what such would mean - in this situation.

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by ScooterD

He was the best hitter I have seen in my lifetime (I’m b. 1979) - my opinion only.

I just worry what happens to his legacy if the rumors of him being older than reported are proven correct in the future. I don’t know if we have much of a litmus test - or what such would mean - in this situation.

The rumors have been around since he was in high school, and I personally find it hard to convince myself to care. Regardless of whether he was 21 or 23 when he entered the league or 42 or 44 when he retired, I just don’t really care.

If for some reason there was hard evidence or credible suspicions of PEDs, then I’d care… but I just can’t make myself care about how old he is.

[daveyc1]

If Albert was older than he said he was, doesnt that make what he accomplished even more impressive?

[ThoseBackPages]

we always said he settled on uniform #5 because thats how many years he shaved off his age

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

If Albert was older than he said he was, doesnt that make what he accomplished even more impressive?

My thoughts exactly, haha. Having the best 2nd half of the 2022 season is impressive for a 47 year old!

That’s my point why I just don’t care - it doesn’t take away from any of his accomplishments. It’s not like he was accumulating stats as an adult against elementary school kids. Regardless of his age, he was playing against the same competition.

[Bcr]

Originally Posted by daveyc1

If Albert was older than he said he was, doesnt that make what he accomplished even more impressive?

Absolutely it does.

[5pujols5]

My Mt Rushmore is Pujols, Musial, Gibson, Hornsby. With a storied franchise like the Cardinals there is a case to be made for several greats such as Ozzie, Dizzy, Molina, Brock......the list could go on.

[Rage]

My only Pujols auto, with some bum

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by Rage

My only Pujols auto, with some bum

Sweet - even as a Cards fan, it would’ve been cool to see the Angels get a ring with Trout, Ohtani, and Pujols all together. Linking those three together with a WS would’ve been a cool way to tie the greatest players from the 2000s, 2010s, and (maybe) 2020s all together.

Unfortunately now, I feel like years from now many people will be like, “oh yeah, I forgot those three actually played together for a while. Man, how did they not at least make some type of playoff push?”

[Wade Mulroy]

First new pickup in a while, but really excited about this one. Platinum medallions were a parallel I drooled over reading Beckett magazines back in the 90s and 2000s.

I realize this doesn’t have the same prestige as a late 90s basketball platinum medallion, but really happy about this one regardless.

2005 Fleer Ultra Platinum Medallion Pujols /50

Wasn’t quite sure of the condition in the listing, but arrived in hand today and it’s sharp. Paid $120 for it, which I thought was a great deal, considering some lesser players went for more in recent sales. I put in a $250 max bid to make sure I won it and was surprised at how low it ended. None have been graded at PSA, so this will be a fun one to submit in my next submission. It won’t gem, but will look nice in a slab.





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[NYBBFAN]

I always get excited when this thread is bumped. Nice pickup!

[blindmr]

Did pretty bad overall on this recent sub-
except top 2 cards actually gemmed!
including first Pujols RC
2001 Upper Deck Sweet Spot 121 Albert Pujols!

[LVDan]

Great card, ridiculously great hitter. In his prime I’ve never seen a more dangerous power/ average combo hitter.
I’ve been watching baseball since 1979.

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by inceptus

Was flipping through a 20-year-old copy of Beckett, and came across this. Forgive me if this is an old and tiresome question, but was there ever a definitive origin story for the corrected version? Was it indeed available in certain 2002 HTA factory sets?

Thanks!




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Bumping the thread to confirm I just landed a “corrected” 2002 HTA Pujols this week. Would love to know how rare these are in reality

[ThoseBackPages]

NICE! how much was it?

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

NICE! how much was it?

$50 eBay BIN

[Stech36]

Thought this would be a good place to share one of my new favorite cards




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