Albert Pujols' Baseball Career

The Cardinals First Baseman Has Had An Historic Start to His Career

Jun 4, 2007

Albert Pujols's first six seasons in the Major Leagues have been he best in baseball history, better than Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Don Mattingly.

No matter how good a Major League Baseball player may eventually become, it usually takes him three or four seasons to reach his full potential. Even the best players in history have traditionally taken a couple of years to become superstars. But once evey twenty years or so, a player comes along who hits the ground running, reaching superstar status as a rookie, and then continues to play at that level for most or all of his career. Albert Pujols is just such a player. From the moment he stepped on a Major League field in 2001 through his 49-homer season in 2006, Albert Pujols has been one of the best, if not the best, hitter in the game. Here is how Albert Pujols has performed over the first six full years in the game.

Albert Pujols's Statistics Over His First Six Seasons

2001 Season: .329 BA, 194 Hits, 47 Doubles, 37 HR, 130 RBI, 112 Runs (NL Rookie of the Year)

2002 season: .314 BA, 185 Hits, 40 Doubles, 34 HR, 127 RBI, 130 Runs (2nd in MVP Voting)

2003 Season: .359 BA, 212 Hits, 40 Doubles, 43 HR, 124 RBI, 137 Runs (2nd in MVP Voting)

2004 Season: .331 BA, 196 Hits, 51 Doubles, 46 HR, 123 RBI, 133 Runs (3rd in MVP Voting)

2005 Season: .330 BA, 195 Hits, 38 Doubles, 41 HR, 117 RBI, 129 Runs (NL Most Valuable Player)

2006 Season: .331 BA, 177 Hits, 33 Doubles, 49 HR, 137 RBI, 119 Runs (2nd in MVP Voting)

Needless to say, those are some pretty impressive statistics. But just how good are they? Compared with the first first six seasons of every other player in history, where does the man who is nicknamed Phat Albert stand? Well, here is a statistical comparison of Albert Pujols against three players who are generally considered to have had the best 'first six' seasons in baseball.

Albert Pujols (2001-2006): .331 BA, 193 Hits, 42 Doubles, 42 HR, 126 RBI, 127 Runs

Don Mattingly (1984-1989): .327 BA, 203 Hits, 43 Doubles, 27 HR, 114 RBI, 102 Runs

Ted Williams: (1939-1947*): .353 BA, 184 Hits, 39 Doubles, 33 HR, 125 RBI, 133 Runs

Joe DiMaggio: (1936-1941): .347 BA, 194 Hits, 36 Doubles, 33 HR, 136 RBI, 122 Runs

All great statistics from great players. But who is the best. Well, to use a simple anayltical technique, one could assign four points to the player who scored the best in a category, three points for second place, two for third and one for fourth. Then, add up each total, and the player with the most points is tops.

Here is how the players compare: Albert Pujols (17), Don Mattingly (13), Williams (16), DiMaggio (17).

Under this analysis, Pujols is tied with DiMaggio for best initial six seasons in history. This is just a rough thumbnail sketch, of course, but when a player compares favorably with DiMaggio and Williams, that sure says a lot.

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