Sympathy For Albert Pujols

Much like the Los Angeles Angels’ record after 35 games and five weeks – 15 wins and 20 losses and in last place in the American League’s West Division, eight games behind Texas (who took two out of three from Anaheim’s Halos in Arlington, TX this past weekend and walloped them 13-6 on Sunday) – I’m positive that no one, and I mean no one, expected what is happening with Albert Pujols to be happening to him now.

After signing a ten-year, $254 million contract this past December, here are the superstar’s statistics as of this writing:

– 12 runs batted in.

– All of one home run. ONE – hit against Toronto on May 6.

and, incredibly…

– A batting average of .196; I don’t think he has reached .200 yet this season.

Which is most obviously far, far below the huge numbers that he has put up for the past ten years plus.

I would like to make something perfectly clear right now:

Unlike numerous Angel fans who have been booing this perennial All-Star, I AM NOT jumping Pujols’ case, or ragging on him for this bad start, or anything like that whatsoever.

Indeed, I think that the fans who are booing Pujols are, while understandably as frustrated as he is for how he has been hitting, are also a bit ignorant because this is a situation where as great a player as this man is – he is a clear first ballot Hall of Famer – he needs more support than what at least some Angel fans are giving him.

Do I think that Pujols’ skills are waning? Absolutely not!

In my opinion, which I’m sure doesn’t mean much as my last real baseball game that I played in was at 17 years old in a recreation league – I didn’t even make my high school team – these struggles are a combination of the American League’s pitchers doing a good job following the scouting reports and Pujols taking too many strikes and not being aggressive enough when the pitches are in the strike zone.

I think if he stops letting strikes go by and starts killing the first strike he sees, at least for the next few games to see if that would be affective, his numbers will start to go up. That’s what I would do if I were in his situation.

Personally, it has been a bit saddening to watch the best baseball player of the 21st century (yes, I said it) go through these troubles, which has been a factor in the Angels’ less than stellar record.

That’s why rather than being one of those fans who are booing and turning on him, I’m looking at Pujols with sympathy at the season he’s having to this point, as he is too great a hitter to be batting .196 with only a single ball hit over the fence.

It’s my hope that this man gets back on track, because it would be sad to see him end up with six home runs and 60 RBI’s, which is what his current numbers are projecting to be, as it would triggers cries of “He’s all washed up!” and “The Angels wasted $254 million dollars!”

The only thing left to do is to see how things unfold.