Talk:Albert Pujols

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[edit] Vandalism

There has been a string of vandalism on this article. It's getting so bad, that one vandal edited another's vandalism attempts. I suggest we need to probably lock the page soon.--Lancelot 01:10, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] POV?

That comment about Pujols being one of the best hitters in the game today is not POV...anyone with basic knowledge of baseball can look at his stats and easily see that is one of baseball's best current players.

Not to split hairs, but the POV comment I made was mostly about the 'momentous record' phrase. People can easilly draw their own conclusions about that record. Calling him one of the greatest active players twice in one paragraph was more redundant than a POV problem. Just my opinion though. --W.marsh 02:12, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] "Born in poverty..."

"Born in poverty in the Dominican Republic"? Pujols himself has been quoted as saying that his roots were middle-class, that he didn't have to make do with the improvised gloves, etc., that feature in some other Dominican success stories. Please document.

Bill-on-the-Hill 03:54, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

I'm finding a few references to the "born in poverty" thing, not all that great. [1] [2]. Seems like they might just be working on the assumption that "born in the DR" = "born in poverty". If you have a source for the quote you mentioned, I'd say go ahead and delete the poverty reference in the article. --W.marsh 02:51, 7 August 2005 (UTC)
Removing the poverty bit. --Booch 17:29, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Personal

Cleaned up the personal section a bit. They are not working for a "cure for Downs Syndrome" and do not regard their daughter as "afflicted" with it. Fan1967 02:00, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

It would be nice to get a picture of Albert in one of the regular jerseys, instead of the retro jersey. The retro jersey kind of gives an incorrect impression that this is what he normally looks like when he's playing day to day. --Booch 17:29, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Picture II

How often do you see Albert wearing a retro jersey? Everyone knows what his regular jersey looks like. If you can find a fan picture with a GFDL license, then cool. Otherwise more than likely you'll have to put in a copyrighted image, and no copyrighted images should ever be on Wikipedia, and Fair Use should never be assumed. Furthermore, a little etiquette here. If you want the community credibility to make such a request as this, fill out your user page. Googie man 13:37, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Age

An anonymous user is persistantly adding the claim that Pujols' age is disputed. His sources are A) a message board and B) A work of humor. Because he persistantly added it, he's been briefly blocked for WP:3RR, but I'd like any opinions about the issue in the hopes of working out a long-term solution, should one be needed. This is a potentially libelous claim, so you never know. --W.marsh 15:56, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

I've protected the article so that the disputed addition can be properly discussed. --Tony Sidaway 15:58, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
Speculation about his age as certainly occurred - a few years ago, there was a rash of Latin American players revealed as older than they claimed. But Pujols came to the US at age 16 (younger than most Latin players) and went to high school then. The speculation has only to do with Pujols being so good so soon and so consistently. It has no basis in fact and doesn't belong in the article. zafiroblue05 | Talk 22:12, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
The Albert Pujols page on the MLB site [3]states his date of birth to be January 16th, 1980. I'd suggest this is an accurate source. Tomtyke 01:11, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Pujols has been dogged with questions about his age since high school. It is a very common practice in DR to lie about age of young children, especially if they are baseball prospects. The majority of DR players had their ages changed by 2+ years after 9/11 when stricter visa requirements were enforced. Pujols skipped this because he was already a resident of the US. But most people agree Pujols is definitely older than he claims to be. Pictures of him in his late teens, early 20s (allegedly) seem to confirm this best. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.48.8.173 (talk • contribs) 06:36, 5 May 2006.

68.48.8.173, thank you for posting on the talk page rather than reverting the article. It may well be a common practice for players from the Dominican Republic to misrepresent their ages; I don't know enough either way on such a claim. Certainly it has happened, but claiming that it is "common" is pushing an unencyclopedic claim; you have to provide a credible source if you want such a claim included in the article. Please read about original research to understand what Wikipedia is striving for. The point is that we don't know for certain that Pujols, or anyone else, has misrepresented his age unless we can prove it. At the very least we need a credible third-party who reports a controversy over disputed ages. Can you find such a source? Claiming that "most people" agree or that pictures "seem" to confirm your opinion simply isn't factual enough for Wikipedia. On another note, please sign your posts using the wikicode ~~~~ so we know whom to respond to! -Phoenixrod 17:07, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Would it be fair to put in the article that many in the media have doubted the validity of his age? Jim Rome for one always makes a comment about his age in a joking manner. I'm sure there's a newspaper article about this somewhere.

It apparently was mentioned in sports illustrated. [4] ENDelt260 17:45, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] When the page gets unlocked...

Can someone correct the link to J. D. Drew? Right now it's linked to the redirect page. Thanks. AriGold 16:39, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Done! -Phoenixrod 03:03, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Injuries

The article refers to Pujols's "hamstring" and "nagging leg" injuries. I don't have enough knowledge, but I kept reading about plantar fasciitis in connection with his injuries of the last couple years. Plantar fasciitis certainly should be mentioned as a foot injury, but I don't know enough to say where. Is that what the article should include instead of these other injuries? Did Pujols actually have hamstring and leg injuries, or are these simply inaccurate terms for plantar fasciitis? -Phoenixrod 04:29, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

No response, so I've gone ahead and made the change myself.[5] -Phoenixrod 04:57, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] On-Field Incidents

What do people think about this section? It's all true as far as I know, and I've added two citations, but I worry that the length given to it is a bit excessive. 2 incidents in 800+ games seems par for the course for one of the best known players in the game. I'm not saying we shouldn't mention it, but if we give too much attention to it, we might present a skewed picture of Pujols, suggesting he's a walking timebomb or something. --W.marsh 12:57, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

The section seems to reflect actual events, but its intent appears to be to skewer Pujols, so I worry about NPOV. Perhaps it would help if we put in another side to the story and/or shortened the section. Pujols comments on the Perez incident here: [6]. He talks about regretting flipping his bat, but from his perspective he was trying to respect the game and let Perez know (in an admittedly immature way) that he shouldn't show up other players. From memory, the incident with Bennett got out of hand in part because Bennett wouldn't let it go -- not that Pujols's behavior is excused, but if he was provoked, that seems relevant. The addition's phrasing ("Pujols has been involved in a number of altercations with other major league players in his career, mostly because of his tendency to admire his particularly well-struck home runs.") implies that Pujols does this homer-and-watch routine more than other players, but that simply doesn't jibe with my observations. Lots of players admire their moonshots. -Phoenixrod 13:53, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
I guess I should have checked your changes more carefully, W.marsh. :) Your citations seem useful, and mine above is extraneous. In any case, the section does need work. If Pujols has been involved in "a number of altercations," that phrasing makes me think of a long string of serious run-ins, while there is, as far as I know, one punch and one minor bat-flip. Pujols has a good reputation in baseball and among fans; Peter Gammons, in a March 12, 2005 article here [7] writes about how baseball should market players like Pujols for having good character on and off the field. That was well after the Bennett incident, which ought to be more seriously considered that the Perez one. -Phoenixrod 14:04, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Hello. I added the section on on-field incidents, mostly because they happen to be true. I didn't mean to imply that he was Milton Bradley, but I suppose devoting any text to his run-ins with other pitchers is more than you're likely to see with most players' Wikipedia pages. If you think the information is irrelevant, I suppose I wouldn't be too upset if you deleted it. However, Pujols does have a history of treating the confrontation with the pitcher a bit personally, and sometimes reacting in a way that, if nothing else, people notice. I assure you, though, that my intent was not to skewer Pujols. Being from St. Louis, I love the guy. I just wrote up some stuff on him because it was true, and I figured the more information available, the better. This year, Pujols has done the homer-step-toss bat-step-watch routine way more than he used to, which is why it occured to me that his on-field attitude might be noticable, at least.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Johnbish (talk • contribs).

No, I don't think anyone wants to just remove it, largely because it's written in a neutral tone (no "some fans believe Pujols is a worthless jerk" kind of stuff that creeps into other articles). Criticism certainly has its place in Wikipedia articles, and thanks for adding it. What might be best is to shorten it to a summary of the two incidents, and find a quote from a well-known sportswriter about Pujols' reputation or behavior, to kind of sum it up. But what's there will do for now, in my opinion. --W.marsh 19:10, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
I think the first sentence of the on-field incidents section might be misleading. Pujols has "only" been involved in two on-field incidents... I think "only" is meant to imply that two incidents with opposing players that received some publicity is not so many. I admit, my knowledge of the game is fairly narrow, but I can't think of many other players that have been involved in more than one incident in the press regarding on-field conduct, showboating, etc. I know Milton Bradley caught some flak a few years ago when he started unstrapping his batting gloves as he watched his homers. I know Bonds is frequently accused of admiring his homers... every player, it seems, has his own little homer quirk, so to speak (the Boone bat flip comes to mind). But I think Pujols is par for the course where it concerns the homer-strut, not somehow a shining example of humility as the phrase "only two on field incidents" seems to imply. [07:09, 10 May 2006 (UTC)] - Johnbish

[edit] Stat Comparison

I think that the stat comparison presented in the article is illuminating, and a great feature that should be placed on the pages of a lot of current players. However, I dispute its selection of "first five years". Pujols had the great fortune that his first five major league seasons were full seasons. Alex Rodriguez was called up for three weeks in 1994, and then was a "September Call-Up" (actually in August) in 1995. His first full season wasn't until 1996. I bring this up because in this chart, his 5-year average game total (103) makes it look like he got hurt a lot, when in fact the LEAST amount of games he's played when he spent the whole season in the big leagues was 129, in 1999.

Long story short, I believe that the chart should use the first five full seasons for all players. If that calculus is used, A-Rod is the only player whose stats change, to: G (145), BA (.315), HR (37), RBI (115), SB (25), R (122). Note that Pujols still comes out looking better in every category but stolen bases. I think this is just a little more accurate of a comparison.--Eirishis 15:53, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Picture III

I added a picture from www.flickr.com of Albert Pujols wearing a regular jersey.--MP123 18:39, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Why is the pronunciation not needed? Not many people know how to pronounce it. It's included on such things as ESPN profiles.

[edit] Moving some comments from "Major Leagues" to "Accomplishments"

Towards the bottom of the major league section there are three different statements that are really just accomplishments. I think these need to be deleted or moved to the accomplishments section, preferably deleted and just keep the current "Fastest to X amount of Home Runs under the accomplishments section. The rest of the Major League section consists of year-by-year synopses. I understand this can't be written right now, but it should be formatted differently. I'm going to change it, but post any problems you might have with that. Djarnum1 17:07, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Made some new additions

I'm new here, so sorry if I made a few mistakes but I updated Albert's statistics through tonight, added a citation for his opening of Pujols 5 and the bat flip incident between Oliver Perez and himself and a citation for his 7 RBI night on Tuesday. Hope everything looks okay, feel free to fix it if it doesn't. NaturalDisaster


[edit] Manlove for Albert Pujols

I really think this needs a page. There's a lot of guys out there, like me, who are straight but....Albert.

Okay why hasn't this been takin down how dare this guy say this what are you a cubs fan? Are you so mad about not winning the world series for 100 years you have to take it out on Albert. I hope you are banned from WP. Im a cardinals fan so i don't like it when someone takes a cheap shot like that to my players. I wanna see your proof.

[edit] Pronunciation

Not sure why the anonymous edit from 24.171.27.52 deleted the pronunciation of his name, but I think it's pretty important. I've heard a couple broadcasters (early on) and several people mispronounce his name (such as IPA:/pudʒolz/). So I threw it back in.

The ironic part is that "pooJAWLZ" is the actual correct pronunciation. "Pujols" roughly means "Hills" in the Catalan language (of which I am a native speaker) and I swear each time I hear "pooHOWLZ" I feel like murdering whoever said it. If you don't believe this, check the "Catalan phonology" article and also the "Jordi Pujol" article (he was the president of Catalonia for some years.) The complete history is that since Catalan is not spoken in the DR it's no wonder that Albert Pujols doesn't know how to pronounce his own name, but the fact is that he doesn't know how to pronounce it right. It's kind of like all the German-Americans and Italian-Americans who pronounce their names in totally bizarre ways; or like Don DeLillo who can't even spell his own name right (it should be "De Lillo", with a space) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.43.178.137 (talk) 19:09, 7 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Former MLB player and manager Luis Pujols

Is he any relation to former MLB player and manager Luis Pujols?

No. -Phoenixrod (talk) 20:24, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Game Winning RBIs

An anonymous user is persistantly changing the fact that he had 20 game winning runs batted in to 20 game winning home runs. The fact is, that he broke Willie Mays recored for RBIs, not home runs. 20 game winning home runs is virtually impossible, even for Pujols, in one season. This gives a false impression of Albert. He is the greatest hitter in the game today, but we don't want people getting the idea that he can do the impossible.

Is a combination of both: 20 of his home runs accounted for the game-winning RBI.[8]--Rafelito 19:39, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

The article states 19 of his home runs accounted for the game winning RBI, tying Willie Mays. He had an additional RBI to break the record, but this was not a home run.

It was a home run.[9]--Rafelito 18:31, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

No it wasn't. That second article you posted stated that it was Preston Wilson that put the Cardinals ahead for good. Pujols' 48th homer made it eight to one. It wasn't the game winner.

Yes it was. Go-ahead RBI is not the same as game-winning RBI. Pujols HR made it 6-1, the game ended 10-5.--Rafelito 20:18, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] No mention made of Pujols original position

Mlb.com claims that Pujols moved to 1B from another position. What was that position and why did he move? Also, should that information be in the article? Will (Talk - contribs) 05:59, 4 November 2006 (UTC)


He came up from the minor leagues as a third baseman and mainly played left field his first two seasons. In his rookie season, he played every position except pitcher and catcher.

  • No, according to ESPN's fielding statistics, he has never played Center Field. He has also never played Second Base (although those stats ignore the All-Star game, and he did play 2B in the 2001 game). He's logged a total of two innings at Shortstop (I can't find any more info on that game, but I presume it was probably a late-inning shift, the sort of thing that occasionally happens when you pinch hit for your shortstop and then realize your backup's already been used, is injured, or whatnot). 76.21.181.110 16:47, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

Although it doesn't count towards official stats and may be irrelevant here, Pujols has played every position except CF, C, and P in spring training.75.16.242.32 20:14, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reference problems in this article

While this article does list at least some of its sources, it does not do so in a way that allows a reader to know which reference applies to the part of the article they are reading. I think we need to switch to use <ref> tags. Will (Talk - contribs) 04:24, 29 November 2006 (UTC)