The End of an Era

"People from other teams want to play in St. Louis and they're jealous that we're in St. Louis because the fans are unbelievable. So why would you want to leave a place like St. Louis to go somewhere else and make $3 or $4 more million a year? It's not about the money. I already got my money. It's about winning and that's it. It's about accomplishing my goal and my goal is to try to win. If this organization shifts the other way then I have to go the other way."-Albert Pujols, mlb.com, 2009

Albert Pujols debuted at exactly the right time. With the franchise coming out of the Big Mac era, it was time for someone to stop in to the spotlight and become the face of the St. Louis Cardinals. During his tenure with the Redbirds, Albert set many records and had the greatest start to a career anyone has ever seen. As his first major league contract approached its end, many thought he would sign another deal and eventually retire as a Cardinal. After entering the Hall of Fame, most thought the next few decades would be spent discussing whether the greatest to ever wear the uniform was Albert of Stan.

We were wrong...and we should have seen the signs.

Ever since the topic of Albert's contract expiration came up two years ago, Albert had become increasingly noncommittal about his intentions. Questions about his free agency were met first with "What do I want? Hey, I want to be a Cardinal forever. That's my goal." to "Right now I'm a Cardinal" during the World Series. If the Cardinals had offered him a contract of 5 years at 18 million per year, I would completely understand his decision to take the money Los Angeles offered. The Cardinals, however, offered Albert either nine or ten years worth as much as $220 million dollars. He chose to take the extra three million a year that he himself said players were crazy to take back in 2009. Apparently, the appreciation of St Louis baseball fans is only worth it if you're not the one being offered the payday.

So Albert's gone. Nationally, he will still be viewed as "The Machine" and the greatest player in the game...until his inevitable decline. Had he stayed in St Louis, he would surround himself with a fanbase that has seen his best years and would be more forgiving when his talents start to diminish. In Los Angeles, however, he is setting himself up for massive criticism when the slide begins. Will Angels fans care about his MVP awards in '05, '08, and '09? His seven other top five finishes in MVP voting? his six silver sluggers and two gold gloves? His performance in game 3? Or the two world series he helped bring to St Louis?

No. They will care about the massive contract that they can't get out of because of a no-trade clause. the spite against him will grow with every double play he grounds into. He is on track to be the next A-Rod; a deteriorating player whose superfluous contract is constantly mocked.

During his time in St Louis, Albert complained about being called "El Hombre" as he thought no one should be compared to Stan Musial. Well, Albert, you never have to worry about that comparison again.

Good luck in Los Angeles. As food for thought, keep in mind that with the cost of living in California, the $25,000,000 million dollars a year is equivalent to about $15,000,000 in St Louis. You thought people were crazy for leaving St Louis for a few million dollars more? What about ten million less?