(Did you see what I did there?)
After a regular season in which 15 players drove in more runs and 93 players had higher batting averages, Pujols managed to hold on to his title as the best player in baseball. His five-hit, three-homer, six-RBI explosion in Game 3 of the World Seres was called by many the greatest performance in postseason history. Now that he is available to the highest bidder on the open market, Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman suggests Pujols could be the "greatest free agent ever."
See? Everybody in the world loves to make blanket statements about Pujols.
Pujols is going to get paid. His possible suitors include the Cubs, Giants, Rangers, Blue Jays, Nationals, Orioles and possibly the Lansing Lugnuts, if they could find some extra cash lying around. Pujols will be a box office draw and instantly upgrade the offense wherever he goes, which is why a few observers have speculated his contract could exceed Alex Rodriguez's $275 million deal.
The World Series champion Cardinals want to keep him, obviously. It's tough to imagine them contending without him, and it's even tougher to imagine him wearing a cap that's not red with an "StL" sewn on. The relatively small-market Cardinals are expected to have trouble matching the amount Pujols could receive elsewhere, however, and the team reportedly is reluctant to go above $200 million in total money.
Dan Lozano, Pujols' agent, certainly could drive a hard bargain. But as greatly as the Cards need Pujols, it could be argued that Pujols needs the Cards just as much.
At 31 years old, Pujols' legacy is virtually airtight. Should he re-sign with the Cardinals, the baseball world will keep chugging along as usual, occasionally glancing at the boxscore to see where Pujols sits in the triple crown categories. Fans will shake their heads in amazement at his homers and not even notice his 0-for-4s.
Should he sign with another team, though — especially a large-market club like the Cubs — he'd find himself thrust under a microscope that could only be described as LeBron James-esque. In the relatively calm universe of Eastern Missouri, a season like Pujols' 2011 campaign was a minor distraction. The Baseball Tonight guys liked to laugh that Pujols' .299 average, 37 homers and 99 RBIs represented a "down" year for the three-time MVP.
He wouldn't be treated nearly as gently for the same performance in Chicago. If he goes to the Cubs and is batting .257 on May 29, the back page of the Chicago Sun-Times might burst into flames. "What's wrong with Pujols?" would lead every highlight show.
His statistics aren't the only thing that would be scrutinized. After committing an error that basically caused the Cardinals to lose Game 2 against the Rangers, Pujols ducked out of the clubhouse before reporters were allowed in, forcing his teammates to defend his mistake. After his historic Game 3, though, Pujols was more than happy to stick around and yuck it up with the press.
In polite St. Louis, people shrugged and went back to applauding well-executed sacrifice bunts. In gruff Chicago, where accountability is almost as important as on-base percentage, there's a 100 percent chance he'd get roasted by the media and fans, unless he led the Cubs to the World Series.
(Like I said, there's a 100 percent chance he gets roasted.)
But Pujols is a big boy. He can take the criticism, probably, and keep bashing moonshots for whatever team pays him handsomely. It's not the personal reasons but the professional ones for which Pujols needs the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are a model franchise. They won it all with only the 11th-highest payroll in Major League Baseball, and managed to do that with a general manager who isn't obnoxious or a household name. (Did you even know before October that John Mozeliak was the Cards' GM? Did you know before I told you just now?)
With the Cardinals, Pujols could go on to win another ring or two before he turns 37. Even if his production falls off a cliff in his mid-30s — and history tells us it will — he'd retire as the undisputed greatest player in franchise history, surpassing even Stan Musial and Bob Gibson. He may have to settle for less money, but what's the cost of sainthood?
With any other team, Pujols would be just another star who chased the bigger contract. Even if he continued to be the finest player in the game, he'd be reviled in St. Louis, the city in which he had his greatest success.
The Cardinals need Pujols, but to maintain his place at the pinnacle of the game, Pujols needs the Cardinals, too.
