Pujols 'the perfect player' in 11 years with Cards

In those early years with the Cardinals, Albert Pujols was that player others would stop and watch take batting practice.

“The thing is, he’s always under control,” Lance Berkman once said. “You almost never see him lunge at a pitch. You almost never see him swing at a ball in the dirt.”

To put it another way, Pujols had the rare gift of virtually controlling at-bats the moment he stepped into the batter’s box. Ahead in the count, behind in the count, pitchers never felt comfortable.

“There really was no way to pitch to him,” Berkman said, “because his hands were so quick he could adjust to almost anything.”

With MLB Network showcasing 10 of Pujols’ signature games for three days through Monday, this is a good time to attempt to put his greatness into some sort of context.

• 10 memorable moments from Pujols’ career

To look at those first 10 seasons, the historical comparisons are names like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams. Whenever Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell hears comparisons thrown out about other players, he’s reminded to check the Pujols numbers.

“Don’t overlook Albert,” Bagwell will say.

He had a front-row seat for Pujols’ first 11 seasons, when the Cardinals and Astros were two of the National League’s best teams and met in the NL Championship Series in 2004 and ’05. (The Cardinals won in ’04, the Astros in ’05.)

“I’m not sure any player has had a better 11 seasons than Albert did when he first came up,” Bagwell said. “His ability to make hard contact and impact games was just amazing.

“He also made every player around him better. He put pitchers in high-stress situations, not just against himself, but against the hitters around him in the lineup. Isn’t that the definition of a great player?”

Yep, it probably is.

Pujols, 40, played 11 seasons with the Cardinals and was part of two World Series winners before signing with the Angels, his team for the past eight seasons.

From 2001-11 -- all with the Cardinals -- Pujols led MLB in homers (445) and doubles (455), and his 1.037 OPS was second only to Barry Bonds.

Those 11 seasons include three NL MVP Awards and four other seasons when he finished second to Bonds (twice), Ryan Howard and Joey Votto. To Bagwell’s point, Statcast research by David Adler came up with these historical comparisons:

• Pujols’ 445 home runs are the most in history in a player’s first 11 seasons, comfortably ahead of 399 by Eddie Mathews.

• 455 doubles are tied with Todd Helton for the most in history.

• 3,893 total bases are the most in history, with Hank Aaron next at 3,692.

• 1.037 OPS is fifth-highest among players with at least 1,000 plate appearances for their first 11 seasons. Only Hall of Famers Ruth, Williams, Jimmie Foxx and Gehrig were better.

• 170 OPS+ is 11th-highest all-time and way behind the leader, Ruth at 218. In MLB’s divisional era, only Angels teammate Mike Trout (176 OPS+) has been better.

• 1,291 runs are the most ever, slightly more than No. 2, Ted Williams at 1,275.

• 915 extra-base hits are the most ever, way more than No. 2, Aaron, at 796.

• .617 slugging percentage is fifth-highest, tied with Hank Greenberg, and behind the leader, Ruth, at .712.

Inside the Cardinals clubhouse, Pujols was seen as relentlessly prepared and obsessive in his attention to detail.

“He was the perfect player,” said his Cardinals manager, Hall of Famer Tony La Russa.

Could Pujols do damage? His home run against the Astros in the 2005 NLCS remains the most infamous in franchise history.

Almost 15 years later, Pujols said it’s routine for him to sit down at lunch in Houston and have Astros fans approach him and tell him where they were and what they were doing when he homered.

“I know it’s a compliment,” he said, “but I have to remind them that the Astros won Game 6 and the series.”

When Pujols returned to Busch Stadium last summer for the first time since his Cardinals days, fans had the chance to show him what he’d meant to them.

“You were a great teammate,” Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright wrote on Twitter, “you are a great friend, and one of the greatest Cardinals/baseball players to ever live. I don’t know what the record for longest ovation is, but I hope you pass that.”