An Upfront Look at Albert Pujols Departure from St. Louis

Recent articles in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about the departure of Albert Pujols have left at least a little unsaid. Albert has been heavily defended for choosing the path to southern California over staying with the Cardinals. For the past eleven seasons, he has been an integral part of a generally vibrant and successful team. His contributions to this effort have been legendary at least.

Most fans do not blame Albert for pursuing the huge monetary rewards that come with enormous professional sports success. However, to ascribe the main reason for his choice to leave as a need for organizational recognition is ludicrous. It does not matter whether he or his wife have said things to the contrary. If the Angels had only matched the offer from the Cardinals, he would still be playing in St. Louis. It was the money.

For those who live in the lower end of the economic scale, the finances are hard to grasp. Does it actually change your lifestyle if you make $25 million per year instead of $21 million? This was a move that said more money equals more peer recognition. If other of the franchises with deep pockets had entered the bidding, he might be a Yankee for $30 million per year.

Conversations with a motivated owner may have enticed him to listen to their offer, but it was not the reason that he is not a Cardinal. To blame Mr. Dewitt and the ownership of the Cardinals because they were not friendly enough is nonsense.

They must have been friendly enough to Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds. Chris Carpenter must have found them especially chatty. Perhaps Lance Berkman needs to be asked about this. Those number crunching bean counters seemed to be able to make nice to these guys. They all renewed with those unfriendly Cardinals.

Are we really to believe they singled out Pujols for poor treatment? Give that one a rest. Albert hired a shark for an agent. If you want people to talk nice to you, it probably is not a good start to send in a financial predator to do your work. That aside, it is inconceivable that over the last few years that the management and ownership of the Cardinals have not had several long and excellent conversations with their star player.

What kind of recognition does he require? The organization has brought in an excellent pool of talent to surround Albert. After all, he did say that he wants to be a part of a winning franchise. So, the Cardinals built a winning franchise around him with increased payroll. He left anyway knowing that he was the central piece to the puzzle.

Perhaps, it was the retirement of his manager that made it easier to leave. The Cardinals probably could not have done much to prevent that. Of course, the Angels know that signing Albert at this time will improve their contract offer from Fox Sports. It could be that the owner of the Angels anticipates enough extra revenue from a new contract to cover most of the salary of their new superstar.

If Albert wants to leave for extra cash, good for him. Most St. Louis fans will wish him well. It would just be refreshing if he had not put that silly spin on the story that says he needed more respect and recognition. Apparently, that recognition just needed larger numbers involved to be enough.

It might be that Albert was afraid to stay and be measured up to himself. He did not have a really great first half in 2011. The statistics mavens say that his power numbers have been decreasing for four years. In California, he will get a fresh start. He can be less than he has been and still be considered great in a new city.

The southern California fans will have a lot less memories of his power, batting average, and consistency than those in St. Louis. If he falters in Anaheim, he be a goat for a little while, but it will be written off to be a bad business decision. Had he failed in St. Louis, it could have meant the death of his legacy in this city.

It could also be wondered if St. Louis ownership may have made the team around Albert look a little too good. He has a weak season for him, and St. Louis wins the World Series with the other guys.

The series MVP was a relative newcomer to the team not Albert. The big accolades during the season often went to Lance Berkman with his come back season. Pujols wanted to go someplace where he could be the only star shining on the field.

St. Louis will only miss Albert Pujols if they fail without him. If the team can keep up the high level of play, he will soon be just one more star that used to shine in the history of a great franchise. Hopefully, he will play well for another five years or so and shine for the Angels.


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