The Chris Moeller Archives

Crowning Pujols

The winter doldrums are in full swing. Another two inches of snow fell on Des Moines last night, and the high temperature today is hovering around the age of puberty, and that's puberty for a girl, people, not a boy!

I've found a solution through Netflix-- ordering DVDs of some of the greatest baseball games of all-time to enjoy during the chilly January weekends-- games watched or in the Netflix queue include what would commonly be known as the Bill Buckner game, the Kirk Gibson game, the Ryne Sandberg game, and the 1987 World Series contest Cardinals fans know simply as the Tom Lawless game. I'm also pleased to notify you that pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Spring Training in only 20 days.

Our topic then today is the greatness of the Cardinals' Albert Pujols, the reigning National League MVP and baseball's best player. He's about to accomplish something truly historic:

Only one time in history has a Major League player claimed what would be considered a "Decade Triple Crown," meaning that he led his league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in for the span of an entire decade. That player was Rogers Hornsby for the National League in the 1920s (a Cardinal for the first 7 of those 10 years). Babe who? Yes, that's Rogers Hornsby. During the '20s, he led the Senior Circuit with a .382 BA, 250 home runs, and 1,153 RBIs.

With a "typical" season in 2009, the Great Pujols will become number two. The following are the top 5 lists in each category for the first decade of the new millennium in the National League...

BATTTING AVERAGE
1) Albert Pujols .334
2) Todd Helton .332
3) Barry Bonds (retired) .322
4) Chipper Jones .316
5) Moises Alou .310

HOME RUNS
1) Albert Pujols 319
2) Barry Bonds (retired) 317
3) Andruw Jones 291
4) Lance Berkman 284
5) Adam Dunn 278

RUNS BATTED In
1) Albert Pujols 977
2) Lance Berkman 946
3) Todd Helton 895
4) Andruw Jones 874
5) 3 tied with 850

But, you're saying to yourself, the real decade should be 2001-2010. You started a year early, Chris. Well, so did everybody else. What makes his feat doubly remarkable is that Pujols spotted the rest of the league a full year. He didn't make his big league debut until April of 2001. If we subtract 2000, we have two years remaining in the decade, but Pujols' lead in each category widens...

BATTING AVERAGE
1) Albert Pujols .334
2) Todd Helton .326

HOME RUNS
1) Albert Pujols 319
2) Adam Dunn 278

RUNS BATTED IN
1) Albert Pujols 977
2) Lance Berkman 879

Those are virtually insurmountable leads if Pujols remains healthy and consistent. And unlike even Hornsby, Pujols will have accomplished it in the first 10 years of his career. The last Triple Crown winner in the National League for a single season was Joe "Ducky" Medwick (again, a Cardinal) in 1937, but Pujols may accomplish a feat that has a longer drought than that.

posted by CM @ 2:47 PM