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ALBERT PUJOLS' THREE MVP awards, 10 All-Star Games and abundance of Baseball-Reference black ink ensure him a place in Cooperstown and the right to take an occasional breather from the concept of every pitcher-batter confrontation as a life-or-death experience. But he still arrived in spring training with a competitive chip and a trace of defiance in his voice -- and who could blame him?
Pujols has spent several seasons playing on achy feet, he has undergone two surgeries to ease a persistent case of plantar fasciitis, and he has had little opportunity to immerse himself in the grueling winter workouts so vital to his long-term success. The new metrics paint an unfavorable picture, and he has seen the stories of his decline and the suggestion that the four years and $114 million left on his contract are a financial albatross for the Los Angeles Angels.
Amid the doubts, Pujols' high standards and professional pride continue to fuel him. He clings to the traditional numbers that give him comfort because it's a little late in the game for him to embrace the tenets of weighted runs created plus.
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The Sandy Koufax of our time just turned the big 3-0 and has stayed a step ahead of major league hitters for 10 years. How has the ace of a generation reached this level, and where will his Cooperstown-worthy career go next?
"I've still driven in [90] or 100 runs five out of the six years that I've been here,'' Pujols said. "Yes, my average, on-base and slugging haven't been the same. But you know what? If I hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs in the four years I have left, I think I'm going to be in pretty good company.''
He's already in good company -- and it's about to get better.
Pujols hit the ground running this spring -- not an easy feat for a guy with two career bunt singles. He's tied for 11th in the majors with 22 hits so far this season and is only 10 shy of becoming the 32nd player in MLB history with 3,000 career hits. He will join Adrian Beltre as the second Dominican Republic native in the club, and he will enter a group of players with 3,000 hits, 450 homers and 600 doubles that includes Hank Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski, Beltre and Pujols' baseball icon, Stan Musial.
For want of a better word, he's looking downright spry at age 38.
"I want to do it first, and then we can talk about it as much as you can,'' Pujols said. "To get to that number is going to be really special. It's something you don't aim for or focus on, but when you're this close, you're like, 'Wow, that's a lot of hits.'''
As the big day looms, Pujols sat down with ESPN.com and reflected on some of the moments, mantras and personal milestones that have brought him to such a revered place.
When Pujols tore up spring training in 2001, the rumblings began that the Cardinals might consider breaking camp with a 21-year-old third baseman/outfielder with 127 minor league games on his résumé. Pujols started in left field on Opening Day and got on the board with a single to left field against Colorado's Mike Hampton on April 2, 2001.
Pujols went 1-for-9 in that opening series at Coors Field before collecting seven hits in 14 at-bats against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was on his way.
"I remember my [second] at-bat. I almost took him deep,'' Pujols said of the encounter with Hampton. "I almost hit a home run. I hit a long fly ball, and they caught it right at the wall. Then I hit a pitch middle-away, and I hit a ground ball, and Neifi Perez almost caught it, but it went through.
"Obviously, it's fun, but I was more worried about trying to stay up in the big leagues. Three days before, they told me I was going to make the ballclub. Then three days later, on Opening Day, I got my first base hit.
"I didn't think much about it, but that's how it's been for me. Everything I've accomplished is great, but it's hard for me to soak everything in when I'm still playing the game. Sometimes people can take that wrong. It's not that I don't care. I do care. But it's hard for me when I'm still active and playing the game to sit down and think about what I've accomplished. I'm still probably going to get a lot of other things. That's pretty much how I've been since day one.''
Many of Pujols' peers marvel at his ability to last so long while using such a physically demanding batting stance. He settled into the box in a pronounced crouch, with his legs spread in a kind of wishbone, and it was a natural antidote to over-striding. The approach put a strain on his legs and back, but it didn't prevent Pujols from playing the ironman role. During a 12-year span from 2001 through 2012, he averaged 675 plate appearances and 155 games per season.
"I can't imagine being in that stance for 20 years,'' Pujols' former Cardinals teammate David Freese said. "That's insane. He gets so far down there. It's got to wear on him. In the clubhouse, you see how guys are hurt and have nagging injuries, and he's dealt with that most of his career. But 160 games later, he's still in there unless he has surgery. It's all about having the desire and the focus and the need and the want to be out there.''
Pujols has a simple explanation for his commitment to the stance. He used it early, it worked, and there was no reason to change.
"I was always down on my legs until my injuries,'' he said. "Now I'm standing a little bit more tall. Whenever I feel good on my legs, I still kind of get down in that position. But obviously because of my knee surgery on my back side, I can't do as much because it flares up a little bit.
"I haven't changed it much. A little bit. I'm pretty sure if I tried to hit like other people, I would feel uncomfortable. This is something I've done for almost 19 years now.''
When Pujols was with the Cardinals, spring training was like touring a baseball museum. A stroll through the clubhouse could easily yield an encounter with Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Bruce Sutter or Red Schoendienst, the patron saint of every value Cardinals fans hold dear.
Pujols and Musial were separated by 60 years, but they developed an intergenerational bond as superstars responsible for fulfilling the dreams of a baseball-obsessed city. Pujols' respect for Musial was so profound that he chafed over the nickname "El Hombre'' because he thought it intruded upon the hallowed ground that "Stan the Man'' had staked out in St. Louis.
"Stan did a lot of stuff for our foundation, and I did a lot of stuff for his foundation. We just became real close," Pujols said. "I knew about him, but not much until I got to St. Louis and I started reading about him and they started making the comparison between me and him. He was just a great human being. Forget about what he did in baseball. Look at what he did to serve this country. To me, that's more important than what he did in the game and showed the kind of person he was.''
Pujols and Musial rarely talked hitting in-depth, but one ritual endured throughout Pujols' 11 seasons in St. Louis.
"When Stan played, I'm pretty sure they used to make their own bats,'' Pujols said. "The wood is so much better now than it was back then. So every time I came around, he always touched my bat. He would pick it up and say, 'Man.' I remember one time he told me, 'That's why you don't miss any pitches. This feels good.'
"It was just fun. Great times, great memories. It's always going to live with me, and nobody can take that away from me.''
(ESPN)
