Angels reach agreement in principle with Albert Pujols
Club reaches tentative understanding, subject to physical
DALLAS, TX – The Angels Thursday announced that the club has reached a tentative
understanding pending a physical with three-time National League MVP and nine-time All-Star
Albert Pujols. Today’s announcement was made by General Manager Jerry Dipoto.
“This is a monumental day for Angel fans and I could not be more excited,” said owner Arte
Moreno.
“Albert’s career performance clearly speaks for itself,” said Dipoto. “He has proven to be the
best player of his generation.”
Pujols, 31, enters 2012 as a career .328 hitter (2,073/6,312) with 445 home runs, 1,329 RBI, a
.420 OBP and a .617 slugging pct. in 11 seasons (1,705 games). Among Major League actives, he
ranks first in batting average, second in OBP, first in slugging percentage and first in OPS (1.037).
He is the only player in Major League history to hit 30-or-more home runs in each of his first 11
seasons and only the second player in Major League history to have 10-straight 100 RBI seasons
to open a career (also Hall of Famer Al Simmons, 11 seasons). Additionally, Pujols is the only
player in MLB history to post 10 consecutive seasons with a .300 batting average, 30 doubles, 30
home runs and 100 RBI (2001-10).
The native of Santo Domingo, D.R. has reached 40+ home runs six times, logged 120+ RBI
during six campaigns and scored over 110+ runs in eight different seasons. In 2011, he fell just shy
of his 11th consecutive season with a .300+ average (.299) and 100 RBI (99). Pujols finished in the
top 5 in N.L. MVP voting in each of his first six seasons and has done so 10 times overall. On
August 26, 2010 he became the 47th player to reach 400 career home runs, and the first in MLB
history to do it in his first 10 seasons. Only four players in the history of MLB reached their 400th
homer in fewer at-bats than Pujols (5,617): Mark McGwire (4,726), Babe Ruth (4,853), Harmon
Killebrew (5,300) and Jim Thome (5,416).
The 6’3” 230-pounder broke into the Major Leagues with a historic rookie season in 2001 to
garner unanimous N.L. Rookie of the Year honors (.329, 37 HR, 130 RBI), just the fourth rookie in
MLB history to post a .300 average, 30 home runs, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. He matched Ted
Williams’ previous MLB record with 30+ HR in each of his first five seasons – a streak he has since
extended to his first 11 campaigns. From 2001-05, Pujols hit 201 home runs, second all-time for
the most in a player's first five seasons. In his first 5,000 career at bats, he hit 372 doubles, 358
home runs and 14 triples for a total of 744 extra-base hits, the most in N.L. history.
A two-time World Series champion (2006 & 2011), Pujols has appeared in 74 career postseason
games batting .330 (88/267) with 54 runs scored, 18 home runs, 52 RBI and a 1.046 OPS.
In Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, he joined Babe Ruth (1926, 1928) and Reggie Jackson (1977) as
the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series contest (5-for-6 with four runs and six
RBI). Pujols tied records for most home runs (three), most hits (five), and most RBI (six) in a World
Series game, and established a new WS record with 14 total bases.
Pujols has remained active in charitable endeavors throughout his career. In 2005, he and
his wife Diedre started the Pujols Family Foundation dedicated to the love, care and development
of people with Down Syndrome and also reaches out to impoverished families in the Dominican
Republic. In 2008, he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the player
that "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the
individual's contribution to his team.”
Albert and his wife, Deidre, have two daughters, Isabella and Sophia, and two sons, A.J.
Alberto, Jr. and Ezra.