Each year, baseball fans hear reporters across the country question: will this be the year we see a triple-crown winner? A player wins the triple crown by leading the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in. Needless to say, this is quite a rare feat. The last person to accomplish it was Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox, in 1967.
In recent years, however, one player has emerged who has been recognized as a perennial triple crown candidate: St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols.
Last year, Pujols finished the season leading the National League in home runs with 47, third in the league with 135 runs batted in, and third in the league with a .327 batting average.
While Pujols is a three-time National League MVP, has won two N.L. pennants and one World Series title, and fell just short of the triple crown last year, he is still in the prime of his career and under 30 years old. So again, the media will be following Pujols’s batting numbers throughout the season.
Entering play this Monday, Pujols is off to another strong start with seven homeruns, 24 runs batted in and a .340 batting average. With these numbers, and with an offense that offers him more protection in the batting order this year by having Matt Holliday hitting behind him for a full season, it is possible that Pujols can make another bid to have the first triple crown in the league in over forty years.
As Pujols continues to be near the top of the league leaders in several offensive categories, the question becomes how much will it cost the St. Louis Cardinals to keep him as he comes closer to free-agent eligibility.
Phillies first-baseman Ryan Howard recently signed an extension for five years and $125 million, making him the highest-paid first-baseman in the league. However, Pujols’s agent Dan Lozano recently told ESPN that while they do not have any set figures in their mind right now, they know that Pujols is on an island by himself. This means that when he becomes a free agent, it is quite likely that he will set a record for the largest annual salary in the history of the game.
As people sit and watch Pujols continue to dominate, and other stars keep signing large contracts that seem to get larger every year, you can’t help but wonder what Pujols may end up eventually signing for.
Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox told ESPN recently that Pujols would be worth $50 million dollars a season, and considering he is not eligible for free agency until after next season, that figure may not be too far off from the actual contract that he signs.
But one thing is certain: if for some reason the Cardinals are unable to keep Albert, whoever signs him will gain the most dominant hitter of this era and potentially write a chapter in the history books for the greatest free agent acquisition ever.
