Jose Alberto Pujols, better known as Albert Pujols, has reached two big milestones over the last two years. After getting into the 3,000 hit club last year, he hit RBI number 2,000 last week. The Angels’ first baseman has virtually done it all, from Rookie of the Year to three-time World Series champion. Now it is time for him to retire and here is why.
A Sluggish Slugger
Big Albert was once a regular starter at the All Star Game. Now he is just a bunch of Hall Of Fame numbers rolling on the field at the pace of a lawnmower. The former Cardinal has turned into a painfully slow player as it takes him an anemic 5.09 seconds to run from home to first.
His sprint speed ranks 384th, out of 386 players according to statcast. To put it simply, his legs are no longer there after 19 years of baseball.
The Big Powerhouse Is No More
The seasons of 30+ homers are long gone for Pujols. The Dominican infielder went deep 31 times back in 2016 and has not been able to reach that number ever since. What’s more, back in the day Pujols used to hit around the 50 home run mark constantly. Those times are also long gone. The days of being a healthy baseball player also seem to be lost forever.
Broken But Glorious
Pujols has not had trouble with injuries for the better part of his career. Nevertheless, it all changed once age started creeping up on him. He strained a few muscles back in 2006 and 2008. In 2011, he broke his forearm.
Things started to get more serious in 2013 as he played with plantar fasciitis for most of the season. His left knee kept him out of action for a big part of 2018 and made some question if he should retire. The answer to that question will be answered shortly.
Get Out While You Still Can
After so many years of playing and an amazing amount of awards on his resume, one must beg the question: Is there anything left to play for? All too often athletes retire way past their prime years, plagued by injuries or personal problems. Pujols is none of that, yet.
Unless he can somehow manage to win a Cy Young award, there is nothing more to play for. It is time for Pujols to hang up his glove and ride off into the sunset. At 39 years of age, it is better to retire now before time and age decide to do that for him.