Traditional Sunday Morning "How 'Bout That Albert Pujols" Open Thread

Prince Albert Can!  Albert Pujols joins Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only guys to hit three home runs in a World Series game.

Comments

[MayBee]

There was something on last night besides college football?

Huh.

[MarkO]

What a player. Moreover, any outfielder knows it was not Albert's error the other night, it was the throw.

[henry]

TM thinks the Yankees will sign Albert the free agent. Who else can afford him?

[Walter]

When the Cards last played at Wrigley, fans there sported Cubs jerseys with Pujols' name and number. Hopefully that was merely wishful thinking on their part...

[henry]

Walter, the Cubs will settle for Prince Fielder. : )

[Danube of Thought]

Babe did it twice.

Continuing the all-rime RH hitter comparison from the other thread:

Foxx ..325 BA, 37HR, 134 RBI.

Schmidt .267 BA, 37 HR, 107 RBI.

DiMaggio ..325 BA, 34 HR, 143 RBI.

Pujols .328 BA, 42 HR, 126 RBI.

He beats Schmidt across the board, and the other two in all but RBI. Adjusting (subjectively) for modern-day pitching and the preponderance of night games today, I'd put Albert at the top.

The only rival I see is Hornsby, and it's awfully hard to make statistical comparisons between his era and Albert's.

[Not_Bubarooni]

There was something on last night besides college football?

I was at volleyball sectionals myself.

I am oblivious to the existence of any other sporting events.

[Old Lurker]

"I am oblivious to the existence of any other sporting events."

I was a swim team parent. Best T Shirt I ever saw said "If I have just one day to live, I want to spend it at a swim meet because they last forever..."

[Pops]

David Gregory: Would you get rid of the Dept of Education?

Correct Answer: David? Does the European Union have a Dept of Education?

We have 51 Departments of Education, I would get rid of one and keep the other 50, how's that?

[Jack is Back!]

DoT,

Unfortunately, he has that creep McGwire as his hitting coach (although I can't believe Albert needs a coach). There will be talk.

OL,

LMAO at that one. True, so true.

Me, I was plumb knackered, as they would say in Old Blighty ,from chasing Frederick around all day at the Cuboree. Man do 8 year old kids have energy. If we could find a way to harness that as fuel we wouldn't need the Fisker or Volt. With that it was early bed for me. Only caught the 1st HR from the guy who got the 2 previous pinch hits (Dave Gregg??) and knew it was a bad start. I guess I was right to get my sleep:)

BTW, with a little bit of fall finally in the air down here on the First Coast, I have decided it is Ossobuco and Saffron Rissoto time. Always make it when the sun goes south of the croquet courts.

[Danube of Thought]

My hunch is that Albert ends up staying in St. Louis.

[henry]

I hope your hunch is correct Danube.

[Not_Bubarooni]

...swim meet because they last forever..."

dang! thanks for the heads up!

my 10 year old is expressing interest in that swimming thing.

best to nip that in the bud.

[Danube of Thought]

I have never heard anyone utter the slightest suggestion that Albert juices.

[jean]

This is the theory I've heard.Albert and LaRusso are really close.If LaRusso keeps coaching in St.Louis Albert will stay.With Wainwright returning next year LaRussa will probably return so Albert returns.A little twisted but I liked the theory

[Clarice]

set an extra place or two, JiB. That's my husband's favorite meal.

[jimmyk]

Cross-posted from the previous thread:

Frank Robinson: BA .294, HR 34, RBI 105.

Not a fair comparison for two reasons: It includes Robinson's later years, which Pujols hasn't had yet, and Robinson played in low-hitting era, making those numbers more valuable. He still wouldn't really be close, as this article shows, but Hornsby, Frank Thomas, Jimmy Foxx are all in the neighborhood. I'd add in Hank Greenberg only because he missed four prime years to WW II.

I would agree that it's pretty hard to compare players from very different eras like Hornsby and Pujols.

[Janet]

Best T Shirt I ever saw said "If I have just one day to live, I want to spend it at a swim meet because they last forever..."

Hah! That is wonderful & SO true.

[Gmax]

If its any measuring stick, I have never seen any right hand hitter hit a ball that deep in Ranger ballpark. Both Hamilton and Moreland have hit some very large shot to right field that it would require a tape measure to determine which was the largest smash, but Beltre and Cruz who are both strong as hell, have never been close to that blast. I bet there is a dent in the concrete where that launched missile impacted.

[jimmyk]

my 10 year old is expressing interest in that swimming thing.

Mine just started. I'm glad she's getting the exercise, but I don't look forward to the meets (though I'm sure Mrs K and I can share the attendance duties). I was a swimmer, but my parents' had an easy solution--they never came to the meets. (I don't recall being terribly bothered by that either.)

[Horns be tooted on second.]

Hank Greenberg or Jimmie Foxx.
===============

[matt]

uh...Ted Williams anyone?

0.482 OBP. .344 lifetime BA. Lost most of 2 seasons in Korea and 3 years in WW II.

Or Gehrig....

[hit and run]

Just got finished with golf - don't have time to catch up on threads,so I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet . . . so here goes:

FELIZ CUNPLEANOS A NARCISO!!!

[hit and run]

Or cumpleanos.

Dern blackberry.

[jimmyk]

Matt, we're limiting the discussion to righties. Williams and Gehrig were both lefties.

[Janet]

they never came to the meets. (I don't recall being terribly bothered by that either.)

Same here. My husband & I were really involved in Naomi & Nathan's soccer careers...managing travel teams, fundraising, equipment managers, going to all the games. I don't think my father even knew I was in band & played the clarinet (I use "played" in a very broad sense!). It didn't matter to me either.

[jean]

I don't know when it became expected for parents to be at every event in a childs' life.I have 2 sons.By the time my oldest was 15 I had been to 700 or more kiddy baseball games.Then there was soccer and hockey.I quit counting.I look back and think what was that about?

[Thomas Collins]

If the Redbirds prevail, they should share their playoff cut with the Braves, who pulled a September swoon worthy of the Red Flops.

[Thomas Collins]

When Mr. Pujols hits 40 homers in his late thirties, I will consider putting him above Hammerin' Hank Aaron.

[Gmax]

It was one game ( one helluva game conceded ). I am not quite ready for the beutification and sainthood just yet. Pujols scares me, but as I said so does Robinson Cano. Great players, future hall of famers probably. To be the best of best takes a little longer for my vote...

[Jack is Back!]

DoT,

I am not saying Albert is juiced or ever has been just that having McGwire on a team even as a coach is magnet for rumor mongering. Wrong, sure but its there for the anti-Pujols mob to use. McGwire shouldn't even be in baseball.

BTW, Mike Florio did an article on this question last year. His conclusion was its too early but Pujols is definitely in the run and just behind Hornsby using an adjusted OPS formula. LUN.

Also, he concluded that Frank Thomas is the most under-rated right hand batter of all time. I agree.

[Old Lurker]

Swim parenting is work. But you should know that swimmers tend to have an advantage in college admissions because by that age if they are swimming seriously it is known that they have the discipline to invest many hours in pursuit of a goal when that goal is off in the future.

Plus they are too tired to get into trouble.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

He beats Schmidt across the board, and the other two in all but RBI.

He'll beat my first love, Mike Schmidt, when he can match total stats:

Three-time MVP Schmidt brought everything to the table - raw power, a gold Glove defensive capability, and a keen and discerning eye (he led the NL in walks three times). As a two-way player, few could match him - he was one of a number of players in the 1970s who emerged as the best offensive players in the National League and defensively at their position (Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench were the others).

While everyone knows that Schmidt's 48 homers in 1980 and 536 in his career are tops among third basemen, few will remark that his 404 assists in 1974 are also the highest all-time. Three years later, he had 396 assists - the second highest total of all time. As baseball's most dominant home run threat from 1974 to 1986, he popped nearly 100 more dingers than anyone else in the majors over this period; but he was also a 10-time Gold Glover.

His unremarkable lifetime batting average of .267 vastly understated his ability to reach base - he led the NL in walks four times and retired with a .380 lifetime OBA, and led the NL in that category three straight times - from 1981 to 1983 - while placing in the top 10 in the NL 11 times. His 8 NL home run titles are a record - only Babe Ruth, who led the AL 12 times, has done better. Schmidt led NL third basemen in assists 7 times and in double plays 6 times.

Schmidt starred in the 1980 World Series, hitting .381 in those 6 games, hitting two home runs and driving in 7 to lead his team to a six-game win. Unfortunately, his 1-20 performance in the 1983 Series was unimpressive; still, he overcame postseason struggles in 1976, 1977 and 1978 to give his team the long-sought championship they desired.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Plus they are too tired to get into trouble.

As a competition swimmer, I can personally attest to this as fact.

[MayBee]

Swimmers also have an advantage in the abs department.

As a swim parent, I made the time go fast by volunteering to help.

[Porchlight]

I have never heard anyone utter the slightest suggestion that Albert juices.

I'm really cynical on this subject, but I'd be astounded if he didn't.

[Porchlight]

they never came to the meets. (I don't recall being terribly bothered by that either.)

My parents came to my plays and recitals, but those only happened maybe 3-4 times a year. Definitely not every ball practice or game. They weren't even at my high school graduation (it was their 25th college reunion weekend) and I didn't care one bit.

As a working mom of 3 kids, I now make decisions about what activities my kids will do based on whether or not I can also attend every practice/meeting. Guess what, I can't, so that limits their activities considerably. If I felt I could get away with not spending every hour with them in these pursuits, I'd sign them up, but that's not allowed anymore.

As an aside, from my observation, kids with wealthier parents (who can afford to have one parent at home who can cart them to a dozen years' worth of stuff) are better able to rack up more extra-curricular activities and thus are more able to get into selective colleges.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Porch: I killed myself trying to get to every game and practice and work full time too. Trying being the operative word. It was such a relief when my husband would be home from a deployment and had a work schedule that freed him at 3 pm so he could take over the parent participation duties. Between Pop Warner, Little League, H.S. ball and cheerleading for my daughter, I was exhausted and swore I would never go and eat dirt and bake in the 100 degree heat again as soon as they were done.

Do they have a rule now that a parent has to be there? When did that start? I would never have been able to commit to 100%, even if I wanted to. Even if you were a stay-at-home parent, it would still be hard if you have more than one child involved in activities.

[sbw]

I don't recall my parents being at a swim meet when I was on the team. Parents did other things in the 1960s. They also had lots of kids.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

sbw: I don't recall parents even being welcome at school, with the possible exceptions of the choral group's Christmas and Easter pageants and the high school play, which were open to the public. But for athletics or any other types of events, I don't remember parents. I'm not sure I even remember any at football games. We played our games on Saturday afternoon, unlike the big Friday High School game nights now. We had a few flimsy moveable bleachers, unlike what they had in Summerville, SC where they had Friday night games of 10-15,000 in a deluxe stadium and the booster club bought the coach a brand new Mercedes.

[Porchlight]

Do they have a rule now that a parent has to be there?

For some of the activities for younger kids, yes. For older kids, it's just expected. Social pressure, to which I admit I'm susceptible.