Rich Zawadzki had an excellent suggestion for Monster Monday; 2003 Albert Pujols. As long-time readers might remember, I drafted Albert Pujols when he was a rookie in the Illowa APBA League. It was pretty much a no-brainer and he didn’t disappoint. In his first ten seasons, he batted over .300 and drove in 100 runs each year.
In 2003, Pujols’ value really skyrocketed. In 157 games, he batted .359 with 51 doubles and 137 runs scored, all league highs. He also hit 43 homeruns with 124 runs batted in. He’s .359 average was the highest of his career.
Pujols just barely missed 400 total bases with a final total of 394.
Albert came in second in the voting for the 2003 NL MVP behind Barry Bonds who ran away with the balloting.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 Totals | 157 | 685 | 591 | 137 | 212 | 51 | 1 | 43 | 124 | 5 | 79 | 65 | .359 | .439 | .667 |
2003 Albert Pujols may not have had the walks that Barry Bonds did but he does have four including a nifty 26-14.
Albert has five power numbers with a 1-1-5-6-6 combo. Playing that card every day was a dream. On top of that, he had plenty of hit numbers. He had two 7s at 55 and 25 along with a 15-10.
Pujols was hit 10 times in 2003. As a result, he was awarded a 61-22 and a 53-15. Note that Pujols only has one 24. He had three the next year.
How did Albert Pujols fare in the 2014 Illowa APBA League season with this card? Pretty close, actually.
BA: .349 2B: 51 3B: 1 HR: 49 R: 119 RBI: 145
I can’t complain about that performance especially considering that our league has ten teams and tends to be pitching rich.
I ended up trading Pujols after the 2014 season which is about the right time to do so. That said, I still have a soft spot for him.
Thanks to Rich for this trip down memory lane!
