It has been said that time heals all wounds.
If you are a life-long Cardinal fan, you were likely upset with Albert Pujols on Dec. 8, 2011. That’s when Albert signed a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Angels.
The nerve of that man to take that contract.
As rich as that contract made him, it cost him a little in St. Louis. He was a very unpopular sports figure in our town for a while. The Cardinals did step up late in the negotiations and offered about $200 million, but he turned it down.
He said no to the best fans in baseball.
The price he paid is no statue right next to Stan. It would have been the same size. Stan from the left and Albert from the right. It would be the marquee meeting place at the stadium.
Albert will likely get one of those smaller busts, but he will be a Cardinal Hall of Famer. He will wear a red jacket one day. He just won’t ever achieve Stan’s status in St. Louis.
Statistically, he is Stan. Do you realize what the man is doing? He is going to pass Lou Gehrig in career runs batted in shortly. As of this evening, he's sitting at 1981. If he completes the contract, there’s a real chance he could pass Babe Ruth and finish second all-time.
Albert also has 633 homeruns. He's going to pass Willie Mays to move to 5th on the all-time list. Again, if he completes his contract, he could end up with 700.
The only thing that bothers me is if he does complete the contract, it may cost him a lifetime batting average of .300. That would be wrong, just wrong.
Today, it was announced that Albert is going to come home, finally.
Next June 21-23, Albert will play his first games in St. Louis since he signed with the Angles. In their infinite wisdom, Major League Baseball thought it would be a good idea to keep sending the Royals and Indians to Busch and keep Albert from taking a bow.
But maybe this works out best. If he would have come back immediately, there may have been boos. Seven years later, there shouldn’t be. Not one.
Salute the greatest Cardinal hitter since Stan. Stand and applaud. No boos.
If Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay get emotional standing ovations, I think Albert should get one that will shake Busch. It will, and should, be a David Freese-like ovation.
