Pujols crazy good…
Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
Ok… I understand that its only May and that a Major League Baseball season is a marathon not a sprint. Having said that… how scary good is Albert Pujols? I mean seriously. He just smacked his 23rd long ball of the year. 23! He is currently on pace to hit 82 home runs. Now I realize being “on pace” means nothing (on April 10th, the Cubs were on pace to win 145 games) but we are approaching the quarter season mark. This is more than just a great first week. This is a trend. If that trend continues, Pujols would break not only the single season home run record, but also the single season RBI record. Thats two thirds of the triple crown in records!
On a more interesting note, as I was looking through career stats, I came to a startling realization. Ruth, Aaron, and Bonds all played for 20+ years to get their amazing career HR totals. Using Albert’s first 5 years as a guide, he would only need to play 18.8 years to break Aaron’s mark. Since he broke into the league at the age of 20 (two years younger than Bonds), Albert is on pace to break the record at the age of 39. As we have seen with Bonds, life after 40 can be rough on a hitter. Now sure, the hormones and chemicals he pumped into his body are probably taking their toll, Bonds is not the only hitter we’ve seen struggle post 30’s. Lets take a look at the stats…
As you can see, Aaron’s home run production dropped by 50% after the age of 40. Bonds was a bit of a freak hitting 45 four-baggers at the age of 40, however his injury plauged season last year dropped his yearly home run average by the same 50%. Ruth (who most likely suffered from his own chemical induced health problems) was only able to play in 28 games at the age of 40, hitting just 6 home runs.
Am I saying that Pujols will break both the single season and career home run records? Its too early to tell but one things for sure, Albert’s a quarter of the way towards both and its going to be fun to watch.
