Albert Pujols: A Villain?

[The Crock]

As many of you already know, Albert Pujols signed with the Angels for 10 years and 254 million dollars, leaving the St. Louis Cardinals who he had been with his entire MLB career. My question to all you is, will the St. Louis fans turn Albert into a villain, much like the Cleveland fans did to LeBron James?

Now, there are differences between the two scenarios. Pujols certainly isn't going over there to make a "super team", nor did he have an announcement on national television. This definitely isn't the same scenario, but I can see the similarities.

Personally, I think he'll be treated very much like LeBron. Yes, he handled it differently, but there is undeniably a sense of betrayal in St. Louis. I don't think it's fair that fans will hate him, but it comes with the territory. I read a story (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi...tatue-now-has-a-security-guar?urn=mlb-wp28287) that the statue of Pujols in St. Louis is being targeted and fans are threatening to tear it down. They haven't done much yet, so it's not like what happened over in Cleveland where fans burned LeBron's jerseys, but I won't at all be surprised if something happens.

Pujols followed the money and I don't really fault him, he's going to a good team for much more money and security than anybody else offered. The Cardinals didn't "abandon" him, they just didn't have the resources to resign him. He didn't leave with malicious intent, he did what was in his best interests. I hope the fans can see that, I'm not optimistic though. Fans can be very close-minded (sometimes for good reasons) but I don't think there is a need for this. Pujols brought them two World Series Championships and years of excellent and competitive play. He has no obligation to stay and as much as the fans hate it, Pujols did NOTHING wrong.

So, what do you guys think?

 

[Megatron]

Pujols did nothing wrong just as Lebron did nothing wrong. Will he be painted as a villain by certain Cards fans? Probably, but if they're smart they'll thank him for his first 10 years (which will likely be better then these next 10 for him) that saw him bring 2 WS titles and 3 MVPs. I don't see Pujols as a traitor, just as I don't see Lebron as one. He looked out for himself, like he should. While it would've been nice to see him stay his entire time as a Cardinal, if he didn't like the offers the Cardinals were giving he shouldn't have been forced to stay.

Also Lebron's a much bigger national name then Pujols which increased his chances to become a 'villain'. Outside of Stl and the Angels rivals I'd be surprised to see Pujols get as much of a negative reaction as James did. Basketball you can win with a few good players. Baseball you can't, since guys can't both pitch and hit for 162 games. It's more of a team sport.

Plus, Albert does all of the charity stuff and is generally seen as one of the nicest guys in the game. No chance he gets even 1/10 of the treatment Lebron got, outside of maybe Stl (which I hope doesn't happen since they do have a good team together and still will be relevant).

 

[hatehabsforever]

Personally, I don't see Albert Pujols as a villain. He did what each and every one of us would have done if we were standing in his shoes: follow the money. After the decade of success he enjoyed in St. Louis, he was probably expecting the Cardinals to step up and make him an offer comparable to what he could get elsewhere, especially after his team won the World Series and he was such a pivotal player in this win. When they chose, rightly or wrongly, to not break open their wallets, he chose to go elsewhere. Frankly I don't blame him.

Comparisons to him and LeBron are flawed. Pujols didn't stick a dagger in the heart of the Cardinals on national TV on ESPN. He didn't join a dream team in the process. And most significantly, LeBron left after much personal success and a fair bit of team success, but he departed before getting the job done. He left before winning a championship for the Cavs. Pujols had much personal success, but he was also a major player in his team winning the ultimate prize, twice, something which can never be taken away from him.

Simply put, there's no loyalty in team sports anymore. It's a shame actually, but it's true. Players feel no loyalty to their teams or their legions of fans. Likewise, owners feel no loyalty to their players. Both of these facts are evidenced in the departure of Pujols from Missouri. At the end of the day, fans will be a little upset for a while, but they'll get over it and in the end, will love and respect Albert Pujols as much as ever. And they will likely receive some comfort in the fact that Pujols' career is already beginning a slow process of decline. He's still a very good player, but he's not the player that he once was as his statistics would demonstrate. He'll do just fine in the state of California, and the Cardinals, they'll ultimately be just fine without him as well.

 

[CH David]

If either side really wanted him back, it would have happened. If playing in St. Louis meant the world for Albert, he would have taken the 9 year, 200 mil deal they offered, maybe just asking for a no trade clause to be added and go from there. Albert did what he could and what a lot of people would. It's the Angels who made the mistake and vastly overpaid him, just like the Rangers did with A-Rod, Twins with Mauer, and the Yankees with A-Rod and Tex. For the next probably seven years at most, he will continue his insane showing at the plate and continue the good defense in the field. But what happens if his numbers drop off in year seven or eight? You're stuck carrying that 25 million dollar salary, since he has a no trade clause.

Fans in St. Louis should be happy that their roster can expand and they can get some other pieces to try and help fill a little of the void left. David Freese will be back and hopefully will stay healthy, Berkman is still there, starting staff should be good. Now it's a bummer, by the start of the season it shouldn't be as bad.

 

[Big Sexy]

Neither Pujols nor LeBron should be made into villains but these situations have multiple differences. The biggest being that Pujols got a better offer from LA then he did from St Louis which wasn't true in LeBron's case. Pujols is also the reason the Cardinals have two World Series titles in the last 6 years so the fans can't be too mad. Another big factor is that Pujols is now in the AL where, as he ages, he can eventually move to DH. Pujols is now making more money and is in a better situation for his career. This was really a no brainer move for him to go to the Angels.

 

[Davi323]

For a quarter of a billion dollars, you can call me any damn thing you want!

To label Pujols a villain for leaving St. Louis is ridiculous. There isn't a baseball player anywhere on the planet that wouldn't gladly leave the team he is on, whether it's the team he won championships with, grew up a fan of, or whatever for that amount of money. Professional sports are a business, and Pujols made a business decision. Good for him. I think it's a terrible deal for the Angels, they will never get a good return on that investment, but from Pujols perspective, HELL YEAH he took the money.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

St. Louis fans are bitches. I lived close to STL, if they win, it's the greatest thing ever, if they lose, they were cheated. I'm glad he left.

He's not a traitor or disloyal or greedy and he DOES love the game.

If you were a salesman, and you outsold everyone for 10 years, and got paid at about half what you brought in. Then you asked your boss, who'd been pocketing most of that money, to give you a raise, and he didn't give you what you're worth (yes, economically Holes is worth that much, in fact, he probably generated 40M some years), and you leave for a company who will pay you, how the fuck are you a traitor or dishonest?

Baseball fans don't see that it's the billionaire owners who are the real bastards. The money must go somewhere. It can't "go to charities" or "go to teachers". If you think that then instead of buy a cards had or jersey or ticket or watching them on tv, go give a teacher 40 bucks. If 300 million dollars in revenue goes into a company (team), it can go to the silver-spoon owners, it can go to concession workers, or it can go to the people who really bring in the fans, the players, and most of it should go to the players who bring in the most fans.

You can't compare Pujols to LeBron. Pujols actually won a title (2) for STL. Pujols didn't make a big fuckin deal out of his stuff. Pujols was quiet and actually demanded the media shut up about it until it was time. Pujols, I guarntee you, also won't have a little pep rally with CJ Wilson and Vernon Wells claming "not 5, not 6" championships.

I say Pujols does love the game because if he didn't he'd quit. He has made over 100M in his lifetime, his GRANDCHILDREN probably won't have to work. If I had that much money by age 31, I'm on a beach somewhere sipping white russians and bangin tan Brazilians with fat asses. He's not, he's probably working out somewhere, watching tape somewhere, working harder to play a game than I do to survive.

 

[GI Cake]

I think this idea that if a player leaves a team he has been with for years in free agency it should make them a villain. Players come and go all the time. Albert Pujols is not a villain by any means. He stuck with the Cards through thick and thin and lead them to the World Series this year. After his contract was up and was asked to resign he simply had no interest in staying in St.Louis. Not only that, have you seen his new contract? 10 years to play with the Angels for 254 million dollars. If he we split his pay down on a year to year basis he is getting paid at least 25 million dollars a year! On top of that, this big money contract is sure to lead to plenty of Sponsership deals and all that money.

Is comparing LeBron James to Albert Pujols is pretty silly. Pujols and LeBron's story might have a lot in common but there is one thing that Pujols did differently than what LeBron did. And that was he won a Championship team with the Cardinals. While LeBron moved to Miami because he thought he could never win a Championship the Cleveland. And on top of that, LeBron also made it a huge mess when he held "The Announcement" on T.V in his hometown to announce he was done with Cleveland and moved to South Beach. Pujols didn't do any of that, he served his contract, won a championship and when the Angles offered him a contract he found better than the one the Cards were offering, he signed his name and left with his head held high.

 

[RManske2]

As others have said, there will probably be some Cardinals fans that will look at him as a villian but he did what I'm sure we all would do: he evaluated the situation and took the money and went to a team that with the recent moves could win another championship. Besides, as a Cardinals fan when Pujols is getting paid $25 million when he is 37, 38, and 39 years old not putting up numbers they won't have to complain about over paying the guy.

The other big difference I think as well is Albert is not from St. Louis, unlike LeBron who is from Ohio and was seen as the savior ("The Chosen One"). Pujols doesn't have that dynamic and he cemented his place in St. Louis legacy by being a key piece to winning two championships and LeBron will be viewed as not delivering on his promise to bring a title to Cleveland. Between that and how everything went down there are two different situations in my opinion.