Albert Pujols: A Baseball Prodigy
Albert Pujols, born on January 16, 1980 stands at 6ft 3in and is a well built athlete weighing 230 lbs. A player of the calibre such as Pujol’s is not worthy of any introduction. He has immense power, excellent hand eye co-ordination and highly commendable
offensive and defensive games. His baseball career has been imposing as well as extraordinary to say the least.
Unlike many other baseball stars, Pujols has loved baseball solely since his childhood. He originates from the Dominican Republic and upon immigration to the United States in the early 1990s; baseball became his instant favourite and his hobby. This hobby
turned into passion in high school and Pujols ended his first season as high school’s finest hitter with batting average topping .500.
Pujols attended the Maple Woods Community College after graduating from high school where he continued to impress with his baseball skills. He ended his freshman year with a batting average of .461 and became the object of attention to Major League franchises.
The St. Louis Cardinals rightly judged Albert’s talent and drafted him in the 13th round of the 1999 draft. Pujols, however, was not lured by the $10,000 bonus which the Cardinals offered and instead opted to play in the Kansas Jayhawk League.
By the end of the 1999 summer, the Cardinals decided not to waste their opportunity of grabbing Pujols and increased the initial bonus amount by $50,000 to $60,000. Pujols finally accepted the offer and began his professional baseball career with the Cardinals,
where he has been since.
Pujols commenced impressively in the single-A Midwest League where he ended up with the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. He quickly rose up the ranks with the bat, smashing two home-runs in seven games with the Triple-A affiliate side, the Redbirds.
Bobby Bonilla’s injury at the start of 2001 opened the way for Albert Pujols to mark his presence at the Major League. He paved his way into the side in the second series of the season, hitting a home-run and eight impressive runs against the seasoned Arizona
Diamondbacks. He went on to hit 37 home-runs in the season. His successful season helped the Cardinals tie for the National League Central Division title. Pujols was rightly called to the All-Star team, the first rookie to be honoured since 1955 and went on
to bag the National League Rookie of the Year award. He repeated his feat in the next season, compiling 34 homers with a batting average of .314.
He came back strongly after an injury scare in 2003, becoming the only player in history of the franchise to complete the rare feat of 40-plus home-runs and 200-plus hits in the same season and joined the exclusive club at MLB.
He improved his defensive abilities over the years and went to the highest level, attaining the Gold Glove Award in 2006. Although he has been inflicted to injuries throughout his career, he has managed not to let his statistics down. He won back-to-back
Most Valuable Player Awards in 2004 and 2005 and has been a regular feature in the All-Star team since coming to the professional arena.
Apart from his baseball feats, he has had some outstanding personal achievements as well. In 2005 he initiated the Pujols Family Foundation for the cure of Down syndrome. He has been very active in programs to help the poor people, especially in the Dominican
Republic. He was duly awarded with the Roberto Clemente Award for exemplifying the best in the game of baseball, community involvement and contribution to the team. He is one player who is not moved by fame and remains humble, the sign of a genuine legend
in the making, if not one.
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