We all wondered when Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols
would get it going and that time has come. For the month of April,
Pujols only had a .217 batting average without hitting any home runs
which was far cry from a man that is a career .326 hitter with 473 home
runs. The fans in Southern California were getting restless as the $264
million man appeared to be another superstar baseball player to strike
it rich on the free-agent market only to forget how to play. Now for the
month of July, Pujols is hitting .328 with 6 homers and 13 runs batted
in. Overall on the season, Pujols is batting .280 with 18 home runs and
60 runs batted in andThe Angels are now within striking distance of The
American League West Division leading Texas Rangers for first place
while they leading in The AL Wild Card race.
Pujols’ first half numbers did not permit him to make his 11th All-Star
Game appearance as the game took on special meaning this season as it
was in Kansas City, Missouri which is the state that Pujols had played
his entire career until this season when he was a member of The St.
Louis Cardinals. Now in the second half of the season, Pujols is poised
to do what he does best which is hit long balls and produce
championships. Pujols was a two-time World Series Champion with The
Cardinals including a game for the ages last year. In Game 3 of The
World Series, Pujols went off going 5-for-6 in The Cardinals 16-7
victory over The Rangers. Pujols joined Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson
and Babe Ruth as the only men in Major League Baseball history to hit
three homers in a World Series game.
To fully appreciate the greatness of Pujols is to look at his season so
far. It might be sub-par for Pujols, but most ballplayers would take it
in a heartbeat. Pujols has made some adjustments in his swing as his
timing was off early. Subsequently with the struggles of Pujols and The
Angels lineup overall, longtime hitting coach Mickey Hatcher was let go
as he and Pujols appeared to clash. Pujols lacked the explosion early
throughout the strike zone and now it appears to be back.
No one remembers what players do in April as we tend to only remember
what a player does in September and October. The Angels started the
season off with a record of 7-15 and some of that can be predicated to
the lack of production from Pujols. This began to turn around when the
team called up All-Star center fielder Mike Trout from the minors. Trout
is a candidate to be both The AL Most Valuable Player and Rookie of The
Year and his contributions cannot be diminished, but for The Angels to
win The World Series Title that many expected them to win coming out of
spring training, it still boils down to Pujols.
Trout who bats lead-off will see better pitches now that Pujols is back
to form and Pujols will see more fastballs when Trout get on-base. It is
also important for All-Star left fielder Mark Trumbo to continue
producing the numbers that he is behind Pujols. Trumbo’s 27 home runs
lead the ball club as he is giving Pujols the kind of protection that he
got in The Cardinal lineup from Matt Holliday. “The Machine” that is
Pujols is back which means that pitchers in The American League will
have plenty of sleepless nights.
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