Perhaps remembering my fondness for my former firstbaseman for the Twin City Thunderchickens, Rodney Woodward suggested 2006 Albert Pujols for this Monday’s column.
In ‘06, Albert hit .331 with 49 homers, 119 runs and 137 rbis for the Cardinals. He led the league in slugging (.671) and OPS (1.102). He even managed to steal seven bases.
It was a big year for Pujols as he led the Cardinals to a division victory and eventual World Series win over the Tigers. In all, he had 15 hits, including three homers in 2006 postseason play.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Totals | 143 | 634 | 535 | 119 | 177 | 33 | 1 | 49 | 137 | 7 | 92 | 50 | .331 | .431 | .671 |
I’ll be honest, I remember this card and thought it was a little weak for Pujols’ actual stats. If I calculate what it will hit quick and dirty like, it should hit around .309.
As a firstbaseman, this card gets some advantages such as the 46-41 and the 53-20 which are usually favorable results. Regardless, APBA could have given Pujols a 55-7 and still gotten realistic results.
Regardless, you can’t argue with power numbers like 1-1-0-0-0 especially when it is backed up with a 1B-5 fielding rating and a Fast base running rating.
Fun numbers: 44-0, 11-1, 46-41
I looked at my Illowa APBA League stats for Pujols from 2006 at they are eerily similar to his real life stats (other than his batting average which is to be expected in a pitching rich league like ours). Albert hit .296 with 49 homers, drove in 126 runs, and scored 118. He also walked 92 times and hit 28 doubles.
thanks, Rodney!
Interestingly, this Pujols card hit .360 and an amazing 74 homeruns and 56 doubles for me in a league I played several years ago. It’s a mixed up player solo league I play where pitching is generally less dominant due to use of more C & D pitchers, which perhaps explains the increase in BA, but the homeruns and doubles are not affected by pitcher grade. He did have about 100 more plate appearances in my league over actual which, in my calculation projected him at about 56 homeruns. So, 18 more is incredible. That same season Travis Hafner’s card was almost identical to Pujols in terms of power, and he, with extra at bats in my league should also have hit 56; and he did hit 56! Goes to show how the dice (I use RANDOM.ORG) can really get hot for one player, even over a season.