Some of you may or may not know this, but I am a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, and have enjoyed watching Albert Pujols play for the Cardinals over the course of the past 10 seasons. How much do I like the Cardinals and Pujols? When my wife and I adopted our dog a little over two years ago, we decided to name him Albert (we call him Albe for short). From a kinesiological and mechanical perspective, Pujols has one of the most efficient and consistent swings in baseball. From a fan's perspective, he has helped the Cardinals win a lot of baseball games over the past 10 seasons. However, his contract expires at the end of this season, and the Cardinals and Pujols failed to reach an agreement on an extension before his self-imposed deadline at the start of spring training. That means he will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season and every team can bid on him. Rumors have surfaced that Pujols is seeking a 10 year contract worth 300 million dollars, which would make him the highest paid player in baseball history. I don't know if he really asked for this type of contract, but there is no doubt it is going to take a lot of money over many years to sign Pujols. The real question that has to be answered is he worth that much money and that many years. On the surface, the answer to the question appears to be yes. When you look at the first 10 years of Pujols's career in terms of most major offensive categories (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, etc.), he ranks in the top 3 all time. There is no doubt that he makes the Cardinals a better team and generates millions of dollars in revenue through ticket sales and merchandise sales for the Cardinals. But if you dig a little deeper, you will see that his numbers have declined slightly over the past few seasons. Also, Pujols is currently 31 years old, and most baseball players show a sharp decline in their statistics around 35-36. So, while Pujols may currently be worth $30 million a year, will he still be worth that the last 5 years of his contract? The other factor that has to be considered is his elbow. Pujols has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, that could possibly rupture at any time, which would require Tommy John Surgery to repair and cause him to miss anywhere from 7-12 months of action. The bottom line is this: Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball, and has been for the past several years. He deserves to make a lot of money. Is he worth $300 million for 10 years? I'm not so sure about that, and I'm glad I don't have to make that decision. While I do feel the Cardinals could increase their payroll over $100 million, they are not the Yankees or Red Sox with unlimited financial flexibility. While I am a big Pujols fan, I am an even bigger Cardinals fan. I would love to see Albert finish his career in a Cardinals uniform, but not at the expense of sacrificing the Cardinals competitive chances with an extremely large contract. Hopefully both sides will be able to reach a compromise and he doesn't end up playing for the Cubs next year.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Albert Pujols: Is He Worth It?
Some of you may or may not know this, but I am a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, and have enjoyed watching Albert Pujols play for the Cardinals over the course of the past 10 seasons. How much do I like the Cardinals and Pujols? When my wife and I adopted our dog a little over two years ago, we decided to name him Albert (we call him Albe for short). From a kinesiological and mechanical perspective, Pujols has one of the most efficient and consistent swings in baseball. From a fan's perspective, he has helped the Cardinals win a lot of baseball games over the past 10 seasons. However, his contract expires at the end of this season, and the Cardinals and Pujols failed to reach an agreement on an extension before his self-imposed deadline at the start of spring training. That means he will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season and every team can bid on him. Rumors have surfaced that Pujols is seeking a 10 year contract worth 300 million dollars, which would make him the highest paid player in baseball history. I don't know if he really asked for this type of contract, but there is no doubt it is going to take a lot of money over many years to sign Pujols. The real question that has to be answered is he worth that much money and that many years. On the surface, the answer to the question appears to be yes. When you look at the first 10 years of Pujols's career in terms of most major offensive categories (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, etc.), he ranks in the top 3 all time. There is no doubt that he makes the Cardinals a better team and generates millions of dollars in revenue through ticket sales and merchandise sales for the Cardinals. But if you dig a little deeper, you will see that his numbers have declined slightly over the past few seasons. Also, Pujols is currently 31 years old, and most baseball players show a sharp decline in their statistics around 35-36. So, while Pujols may currently be worth $30 million a year, will he still be worth that the last 5 years of his contract? The other factor that has to be considered is his elbow. Pujols has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, that could possibly rupture at any time, which would require Tommy John Surgery to repair and cause him to miss anywhere from 7-12 months of action. The bottom line is this: Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball, and has been for the past several years. He deserves to make a lot of money. Is he worth $300 million for 10 years? I'm not so sure about that, and I'm glad I don't have to make that decision. While I do feel the Cardinals could increase their payroll over $100 million, they are not the Yankees or Red Sox with unlimited financial flexibility. While I am a big Pujols fan, I am an even bigger Cardinals fan. I would love to see Albert finish his career in a Cardinals uniform, but not at the expense of sacrificing the Cardinals competitive chances with an extremely large contract. Hopefully both sides will be able to reach a compromise and he doesn't end up playing for the Cubs next year.
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