Pujols having more fun in his final season
This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
It’s not exactly breaking news that the Albert Pujols playing for the Cardinals this season is vastly different than the lean and mean version who terrorized opposing pitchers for more than a decade from 2001-11.
No, Pujols isn’t the same feared hitter, not nearly the ice-cold killer who seemingly always came through in the clutch or the Machine-like technician at the plate as he once was. Father Time and injuries have mercilessly stolen a lot of that jaw-dropping hand-eye coordination, the ability to square up almost any pitcher and a clutch gene rarely ever seen -- even though those traits still emerge from time to time as Pujols continues a slow and steady charge toward 700 home runs.
This current-day version of Pujols, however, has some incredibly endearing qualities that weren’t always so prevalent during his first historic pass through St. Louis. His pierced-eye glare -- one that so often intimidated pitchers -- has been replaced by a toothy smile and a booming laugh. A laser focus that occasionally deterred others from fully getting to know him has given way to him now handing out hugs more often than a proud grandparent. And whereas in the past he was so singularly intent on being consistently great every day, Pujols is now quick to offer advice to a youngster such as rookie Juan Yepez or to counsel a reliever who runs afoul of baseball’s unwritten rules as he did with 25-year-old lefty Genesis Cabrera last week.
Now in the autumn of a 22-year career that will ultimately take him to Cooperstown, N.Y., Pujols is attempting to squeeze every bit of fun and enjoyment out of his final year while also still contributing for the Cardinals. While he can be seen smiling lots more and regularly witnessed with an arm around a teammate, Pujols makes no apologies for the person he was while he was winning three NL MVPs and two World Series titles in the 2000s. Being a human giggle box like David Ortiz or oozing the child-like enthusiasm of a Ken Griffey Jr. would have been Pujols lying to himself and trying to be someone he’s not, he said.
Looking back now, as he’s in roughly the bottom of the seventh of his career, Pujols sort of wishes he had enjoyed the journey as much as he’s enjoying this season. Then again, he said, he might not have turned himself into arguably the greatest right-handed hitter in the history of the game had he strayed from the discipline that’s always defined his game.
“I just got done talking about this to David Ortiz for about 45 minutes, and he’s about to get inducted into the Hall of Fame, but everybody in this game has different mentalities and characteristics,” Pujols said recently in the clubhouse at Atlanta’s Truist Park while autographing three dozen baseballs. “Me, I was very serious, and I didn’t ever really play around, and the media probably read me wrong in the past as always being in a bad mood. No, I wasn’t [always in a bad mood]; this was my job, and I took it seriously.
“I always use this example -- If I have a business and I show up late, what message am I sending to my employees? So, I was always the type to show up early, put in the work and show respect for all that I have been given,” Pujols added. “That’s what I had to do and that’s how I had to approach it. David [Ortiz] liked to laugh more -- and Miguel Cabrera was the same way -- and that allowed them to focus and grow their careers the way they did. Me, I went about it differently.”
A highly introspective Pujols was just getting started, giving more explanation as to why he’s always played the game the way he did. He said his father repeatedly mentioned the greatness of Willie Mays to him, telling him that if he ever got to be as good as the "Say-Hey Kid," then he would have accomplished something in baseball. All Pujols did was use his serious-minded approach to put his name alongside some of the game’s most immortal players, even besting Mays in a few major offensive categories.
With the kind of success he’s had, Pujols shouldn’t feel the need to apologize to anyone about anything he’s done in baseball. Could he have enjoyed the journey a little more and even smiled a little more? Sure, but would he have been as historically great?
“If I could change things, maybe I wish I would have had a little more fun,” Pujols said candidly. “I wish I had done that from maybe 2001 to last year when I had maybe the most fun that I’ve had in my career since leaving St. Louis when I was with the Dodgers [in 2021]. I wish I had enjoyed things more, but that just wasn’t me. So, why would I have changed my personality to do that? Everybody has their routines and their own character, and that’s probably how I’m going to be until I’m done playing.
“But, yes, I have enjoyed baseball a little more this season,” he added. “But don’t get it wrong: I still care about the game as much as I always have. Yadi [Molina] still cares just as much. Just because we’re having a little fun, don’t read that wrong. There’s nobody here who cares more than me, Yadi or [Adam Wainwright].”
Senior Reporter John Denton covers the Cardinals for MLB.com.