The 2022 Player of the Year

Albert Pujols won't stop working

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We watched history from a futon. We cheered on McGwire and Sosa from a problematic perch.

It was a hand-me-down with some years on it. The futon’s peak comfort era — whatever that once might have been — had long passed, worn out by people I’m glad I never knew doing things I never saw.

This futon, having exceeded factory-testing limits in weight beared and asses received, was supported by a frame. With enough distance and darkness, the black futon on black frame could be mistaken for a couch.

Unassuming apartment guests would sit down and find themselves rudely greeted by the unforgiving structure, which usually met their bodies a moment sooner than the mind had been calibrated to expect. If that was the jab, the straight was delivered by the contour of the frame; shaped like the letter S on its side and tilted back slightly, the frame swallowed many unsuspecting seat-seekers.

Proper positioning, really, was limited to the edge of the frame. If you weren’t on the edge, you were in the futon’s well.

During the two years that I lived in the apartment that housed that piece of furniture, more than one parent required rescue by my two apartment mates and me.

Fortunately for us, we spent the summer of 1998 on the edge of our seats.

We were drawn to the television by the excitement of both Big Mac and Slammin’ Sammy rewriting the single-season home run record. Late in the season, as both players had already exceeded 50 homers each, it felt like every Cardinals and Cubs game was televised on ESPN.

From the edge of the futon, we watched.

I am fondly reminded of such joy and anticipation, as well as the camaraderie built by rooting for something momentous together, by the Warning Track Power 2022 Player of the Year: Albert Pujols.

While McGwire and Sosa’s single-season efforts were directed at the same record, the combo of Aaron Judge and Pujols has offered something entirely different.

Baseball’s regular season is often referred to as a marathon — and rightly so. Committing to that analogy, I have to think that we are watching Pujols in the very final miles of a sadistic ultramarathon.

Pujols’ pursuit of 700 has been as unexpected as it’s been successful. His second-half resurgence is the ultimate finish to a 22-year Hall-of-Fame career.

Can we tell his story without revisiting nine-plus seasons with the Angels? Of course we can — for the most part.

From 2010-2019, the decade that spanned Pujols’ 30s, he slashed .268 / .331 / .475 with an OPS+ of 121.

This season, playing at the age of 42, he’s slashing .262 / .337 / .527 with an OPS+ of 146 (through Friday).

Here’s one of the best parts: Back in July, Commissioner Rob Manfred took advantage of a clause in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and appointed Pujols to the NL All-Star roster. (Miguel Cabrera was added to the AL roster through the same channel.)

At the break, Pujols had hit only six home runs and was batting .215. There wasn’t much to get excited about outside of knowing that Albert and the Cardinals seemed to be back on solid footing, and that a special player’s career would end where it should — where it began.

I don’t like gimmicky comparisons, so I’m telegraphing this one in the hopes you’ll follow along as I present the stats of Player A and Player B:

Player A: .215 / .301 / .376 - 6 HR, 20 RBI

Player B: .309 / .375 / .678 - 16 HR, 39 RBI

You guessed it. That’s first-half Pujols and second-half Pujols. Clearly he took his All-Star appointment seriously!

That .678 slugging percentage is, in fact, higher than his best single-season SLG, achieved 16 years ago!

Since Aug 1, Aaron Judge has hit 19 homers; Pujols, 15.

Pujols entered the 2022 campaign needing 21 homers to reach 700. On August 1, he was still 14 round-trippers shy.

In the shortened season of 2020, Pujols hit only six home runs. I couldn’t help but think about where he would have been entering this season had there been a full 162-game season two years ago.

But a torrid August and solid September laid waste to what-ifs.

On a few recent occasions, I was with baseball-loving friends on nights when Pujols found the seats. The mood instantly became celebratory and hopeful.

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Could he keep it up, we wondered. How much more was left in the tank?

I called Cardinals assistant hitting coach Turner Ward in search of any and all Albert-related insights.

“The biggest thing,” Ward shares, “is what goes along with a lot of great hitters that I’ve been around — the consistency of his work. I know it’s cliche, but man, he’s got this routine off the tee that he does…”

Ward continued on about Pujols’ focus and intention while engaged in tee work; he only wants to hit line drives the other way.

“And it goes against this new-age launch angle approach. He does not practice that way in his cage work,” the hitting coach says.

When asked about the dramatic change in results for the newest member of the 700-home run club, Ward returns to Pujols’ consistency.

“He knows who he is and he knows what he’s trying to do, and he’s made minimal adjustments throughout his career.”

Those slight adjustments amount to fine tuning, and things have seemed perfectly aligned for several weeks now.

Watching Pujols’ pursuit of 700 from the dugout was special for Ward.

“I was nine years old on September 10, [1973] when Hank Aaron hit 710,” he says. On that day, 17 years later, Ward would make his Major League debut, playing right field for Cleveland.

Memories from his childhood of watching Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record resurfaced as Pujols smacked eight long-balls August.

“Watching Hank Aaron closing in on that record, watching Albert closing in on 700… there was pressure on him to get to 700. It was emotional for all of us because we’re watching him every day — watching an older player doing what he does, we’re just in awe.”

It’s both rare and refreshing when any coach or player puts down the book of clichés and reveals his true feelings. Then again, the 700-homer threshold had only been crossed three times prior to this season, in 1934, 1973, and 2004.

For perspective, Judge is now in his age-30 season, and he’s hit 219 career home runs. At the same point in his career, Pujols had 408.

So while it’s not quite Halley’s Comet, witnessing a 700th home run in person is still likely a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Ward, who is grateful to be coaching in the big leagues again after a two-year hiatus, admires how Pujols prepares to be his best.

“His body doesn’t work like it used to,” he says. Hey, who can’t relate to that?

In order to maintain his quickness, Ward explains, Pujols stands about 30-to-40 feet away from the pitching machine and dials it up all the way. It keeps him young.

As a fitting encore, the world will get to watch when Albert and the Cardinals begin postseason play next week. He already has an additional 19 home runs outside of the regular season.

How many more will it take to lead the Cardinals back to the World Series?

“I was afraid I’d hit a home run”

Well, there’s a quote I bet Pujols never said. No, this gem belongs to the member of the Blue Cheetahs who lives under my roof.

That’s right, my daughter.

Last week, as many of her 6U softball teammates elected to face live pitching from a coach, she requested the tee. While we were packing up our belongings after the game, my daughter volunteered an explanation.

“You know why I didn’t want anyone to pitch to me and why I wanted to use the tee?”

I didn’t.

“I was afraid I’d hit a home run. And then I’d have to run all the bases.”

Ah, the fears of a first grader.

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