Albert Pujols has been around for so long now that it's easy to forget how dominant his prime was. In every single season from his rookie season in 2001 through 2010 he hit at least .310 with 30 homers and 100 RBI. In NINE of those ten seasons he finished in the top four of the NL MVP voting, which included three first place finishes and four second place finishes. In separate seasons he led the National League in categories that include runs, doubles, homers, RBIs, batting average, OBP, slugging, OPS, and total bases.
However, as dominant as his prime was it is becoming more clear every year that he is wearing down. This past week it came out that Pujols underwent successful surgery on his right foot. This is now the third surgery we know of that he has had on it. Pujols is as tough of a baseball player as there is so he absolutely tried to wait as long as possible before being forced to undergo surgery. The recovery time is estimated to be four months, which would knock him out of spring training and may delay his start to the season.
Since signing his 10 year contract with the Angels his strikeout rate has increased, his walk rate has decreased, and he has made just one all star team. The lone bright spot has been the power department. In his five year Angels career he has played a full season in four of them and finished with home run totals of 30, 28, 40, and 31. If he can keep hitting for power the contract won't turn into a total bust. But he is still on the books for an additional five years and $141 million, which makes it tough to believe he will end up being worth the signing.
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