Albert Pujols’ Legacy Evolves: From Field to Commissioner’s Office

After Hall of Fame Playing Career, Albert Pujols has Chance to Remain in Baseball

Albert Pujols retired in 2022 ranking fourth in Major League Baseball history with 703 home runs, second with 2,218 RBIs and 10th with 3,384 hits. There are so many other impressive Albert Pujols stats. His impact on the game is hard to miss and now he has a chance to do even more for the game of baseball.

Earlier this month, Pujols was named as a special assistant to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Part of his role will include Pujols appearing as an analyst for the MLB Network.

Albert is a highly respected figure who represents the game extraordinarily well. He cares greatly about making a difference in our communities,” Manfred said in a statement.

Pujols will continue in his role as a special assistant with the Los Angeles Angels.

Hall of Fame Career

Beginning in 2001 when Albert Pujols was named the National League Rookie of the Year after batting .329 with 47 doubles, 37 home runs and 130 RBIs, Pujols put together one of the best careers in MLB history.

He led the National League in total bases a total of four times from 2003-2009, led the league with 137 runs, 212 hits, 51 doubles and a .359 batting average in 2003. He finished in the top five in the National League Most Valuable Player balloting in each of his first six MLB seasons.

That is pretty impressive stuff for a player taken in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB Entry Draft out of Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods in Kansas City.

In 12 seasons with the Cardinals, he hit .326 with 469 home runs and 1,397 RBIs. He spent 10 seasons with the Angels and one with the Dodgers. He didn’t have nearly the same amount of on-field success in the second half of his MLB career.

When looking at Albert Pujols’ MLB stats, he finished in the top 10 National League ‘top 10 in batting average’ in each of his first 10 seasons. He was in the top three in on-base percentage seven times in eight seasons. Pujols was a two-time NL home run champion and finished fifth in the American League once as well.

A two-time World Series champion and the three-time MVP in the National League with the Cardinals, Pujols had the chance to play his final season in St. Louis. Proving that he still had some magic in his bat, Pujols hit 24 home runs in 101 games at the age of 42 before retiring at the end of the season.

His .270 average was well off the standard he set during his first stint with the Cardinals. However, it was his best mark since the 2014 season when he batted .272 with the Angels.

Laying the Foundation

A huge piece of the new role for Pujols is to work in player relations in his native Dominican Republic.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista, Boston Red Sox Rafael Devers, Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran, Cleveland Guardians third baseman, San Diego Padres outfielders Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez are among the prominent natives of the Dominican Republic currently in the majors.

More are on the way and that is where having somebody like Pujols having the ear of the MLB Commissioner and other decision-makers in the sport could be invaluable.

Manfred has drawn criticism for some of the rules changes that he helped implement. However, one thing he has gotten right is surrounding himself with legendary former players who are eager to open the doors for the next wave of baseball prodigies.

The one thing still left for Pujols could be to help the Angels make it back to the playoffs in his current role. According to the MLB odds, the Angels (+4500) are 14th in the odds to win the World Series and eighth among American League teams. The Angels are sixth in the majors in slugging percentage and seventh in on-base percentage.

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