COMMENTARY
Call me naive, but ‘Go Pujols!’
It’s easy to be cynical about baseball nowadays. Every power hitter is suspect. Every home run leaves the park with an asterisk attached. But how can you continue to love baseball, a simple kid’s game, if you surrender a child’s boundless capacity for belief?
I can’t turn my back. That’s why I sat in front of the TV on Wednesday night to watch Albert Pujols play against the Giants. I believe Pujols is the best player in the game, one of the best hitters who ever lived. I also believe that he is clean, that the Cardinals’ slugger has not resorted to performance-enhancing drugs.
Call me naive. I’m ready to suspend my skepticism, lead with my heart, and jump aboard as Pujols puts together one of the great seasons in baseball history.
Pujols hit 30 home runs in his first 80 games. That put him on pace to tie Roger Maris’ record of 61 homers in a season. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds? All tainted by illegal substances. In my book, which is admittedly biased, Maris is still the mark to shoot for.
Come on, take the ride. Don’t let the steroids scandal spoil your appreciation for a superstar. It’s OK to speak the numbers aloud. Pujols is the first player to hit 30 homers in each of his first nine seasons. His .631 career slugging average is fourth all-time— behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.
Pujols is a rare combination of power and average. His .335 career batting average is the highest of any right-handed hitter who was born in the last 100 years. He leads the NL in homers and RBIs and is third in batting at .337. He could become the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, the first in the NL since Ducky Medwick in 1937. Pujols is also a terrific base runner and a great fielding first baseman.
It’s a comfort to think that the best hitter in the game is also one of the best guys. Again, I hear the snickers. So many of the “good guys” in sports turn out to be phonies and jerks. But the word is, Pujols doesn’t drink or smoke. He’s a devout Christian who says he “fears God too much” to use drugs.
Pujols believes God blessed him with baseball skill so he could give back. His daughter, Isabella, has Down Syndrome. Pujols has a family foundation that raises money and hope for people with Down’s. He and his wife, Dee Dee, have brought doctors and supplies to families in his native Dominican Republic.
Last year, Pujols won the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball.” That didn’t stop the countless skeptics who assume he’s “on something.” It’s good enough for me, though.
My younger brother, Mike, has a son with Down Syndrome. Dylan is his only child. Loving that boy has changed his life. My nephew loves baseball. Dylan will spend hours in his room, tossing a ball against the wall. I sent Mike a copy of a Pujols profile, which talked about his work for Down Syndrome, that appeared in Sports Illustrated in March.
Baseball has been the one constant in our turbulent lives, a bond between brothers. I wanted him to know it was still OK to believe. There’s still a baseball hero out there for him and Dylan.
Oh, Pujols went 2 for 2 with two intentional walks Wednesday against the Giants. In the eighth inning of a 1-1 game, he singled and stole second. Amazing. The best slugger in the game steals a base to put himself in scoring position in a tie game. He was stranded.
St. Louis won, 2-1, on a solo home run by rookie Colby Rasmus leading off the bottom of the 10th. Giants reliever Bobby Howry threw a fat 3-2 pitch and Rasmus crushed it over the center-field fence.
Pujols was on deck at the time. Howry had to be thinking about him. No one wants to face Pujols with no outs and a man on. I was hoping for a walk, so I could have the joy of watching baseball’s best player at work, one more time.
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