Albert Pujols ranks among greatest players in fantasy baseball history
Fantasy owners love numbers. Baseball fans love round numbers. And Saturday night, one player made us all very happy.
Albert Pujols became the ninth player in major league history to hit 600 home runs when he launched a slider from Ervin Santana high into the air and into the left-field seats at Angels Stadium.
It seemed appropriate that the milestone blast was a grand slam because Pujols has been such an RBI machine throughout his career. And fantasy owners have appreciated every one of them, just as they’ve appreciated all 600 homers.
Since he broke into the majors in 2001 — when an injury to Bobby Bonilla gave him a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals opening-day roster at age 21 — Pujols has been a fantasy star.
He won more than a few fantasy owners their leagues when he hit .329 with 37 homers and 130 RBI as a rookie (while playing four positions).
And he’s continued to put up amazing numbers ever since.
For Albert Pujols, 700 - or more - home runs would bring spotlight 600 didn't
With Pujols in the decline phase of his career, it’s easy to forget what an amazingly consistent player he’s been for so long. In his first 10 seasons, Pujols never hit lower than .312, never hit fewer than 32 home runs and never failed to drive in 100 runs.
His average season over that span was .331, 41 homers, 123 RBI, 119 runs and eight steals.
Now 37, Pujols is nowhere near the fearsome hitter he was in his prime. But he continues to drive in runs, even as his batting average sits in the .250 range and his on-base and slugging percentages are at career-low levels.
Since the beginning of last season, Pujols leads all American Leaguers with 161 RBI — 11 more than Nelson Cruz. (Nolan Arenado, with 172, is the only one ahead of him.)
Thanks in large part to teammate Mike Trout, Pujols has more at-bats with runners on base than anyone else over the past two seasons, but he still has to do something. And sure enough, he’s hit .296 with runners on and .310 with men in scoring position.
And despite his advanced baseball age, Pujols is still a viable fantasy performer. With nine homers and 42 RBI, he’s been a $19 player in AL-only leagues, ranking him eighth at the position and ahead of higher-drafted players such as Carlos Santana, Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera and Edwin Encarnacion.
There’s no telling how much longer Pujols can continue to produce. Once one of the smartest baserunners in the game, he can hardly move anymore after years of foot problems. But he’s still a threat when he steps into the batter’s box, as he showed in rising to the occasion and hitting No. 600.
Fantasy owners prize one quality over everything else: consistency. And for 17 wonderful years in the major leagues, Pujols has consistently been one of the very best.
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If we're talking about the greatest players of the Rotisserie Era (post-1980), here's how I'd rank them:
1. Barry Bonds
2. Rickey Henderson
3. Alex Rodriguez
4. Albert Pujols
5. Roger Clemens
Bonds' home runs, batting average and runs scored (his most underrated contribution) made him capable of carrying a team single-handedly. And don't forget he was a huge stolen-base threat earlier in his career.
Henderson lapped the field annually with his stolen bases and runs scored. He was also capable of hitting double-digit homers.
A-Rod played for 22 years, finished with 696 career homers and he just edges Pujols on the strength of his steals totals. Being in the American League his entire career gave him a slight edge in compiling fantasy numbers. But Pujols is right there.
And Clemens is the top pitcher in fantasy history, playing 24 seasons and racking up 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts.