With the Cardinals out of the playoff hunt, let’s take a look at Albert Pujols’ 2007 season, with just two weeks to go.

Batting Average: .320(8th in the NL)

Homeruns: 31(6th in the NL)

Rbi’s: 92(t-13th in the NL)

Runs: 91(t-13th in the NL)

Despite another huge Albert Pujols season, the St. Louis Cardinals are in trouble.

6 games back with 15 to go. A few of those “horrible” losses were too many for the 2007 Cardinals.

- More later. Go Albert!

Pujols’ leads in first pitch percentage

By Derrick Goold

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

09/13/2007

Albert Pujols is among the league leaders in percentage of first pitches taken, and at his current rate he will set a new career high. Through Tuesday’s game, Pujols had swung at 75 of the 613 first pitches he has been thrown this season. His 12.2 percent ranks second in the National League behind Milwaukee shortstop J.J. Hardy’s 9.4 percent.

“Am I taking a little bit more this year? Probably. Yeah,” said Pujols, who entered Wednesday’s game 11 RBIs shy of his seventh consecutive season of 30 homers, a .300 average and 100 RBIs. “It’s not on purpose.”

Pujols took 80.6 percent of first pitches in 2006 and 79.3 percent in 2005, according to Stats.com. His 87.8 percent this summer would be a personal high.

In his career, Pujols is a .270 hitter with two strikes — a robust average when down in the count. This season, he has hit .295 with two strikes, and 13 of his 30 home runs have come with a two-strike count.

“It could be 100 percent,” Pujols said of his first-pitch takes. “I don’t have to worry about taking the first pitch because I’m not a strikeout guy. I can give 2½ strikes to the pitcher and I’m still going to take the same swing that I always take.”

Albert Pujols can’t always quote chapter and verse when it comes to baseball’s past, but one historical figure he knows well is Roberto Clemente. Pujols holds a deep admiration for the late Hall of Famer, both because of Clemente’s on-field skills as well as his humanitarian efforts.So it’s appropriate that for the third straight season, Pujols is the Cardinals’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. Not only is the slugger a superstar in the batter’s box, but his Pujols Family Foundation does more good work every year.

The Clemente Award recognizes the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team. It is named in honor of the former Pirates outfielder whose spirit and goodwill will always be remembered. Clemente died in a plane crash while attempting to transport relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua on Dec. 31, 1972. The winner will be announced during the World Series.

The foundation took a major step forward in 2007, when Pujols led a group of doctors to the Dominican Republic to tend to roughly 1,000 poor children in need of medical assistance. Pujols missed the Cardinals’ trip to the White House in order to participate in the mission.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Pujols said at the time of the trip. “Just giving love to those kids, cleaning teeth, seeing what kind of surgery they need. … Taking clothes, food, whatever we can do to help those kids out. You’re talking about kids that lost their mom and dad when they were six months old, a year old. They haven’t gotten love from their parents. We want to give that.”

The foundation was established in 2005, with the stated mission to “live and share our commitment to faith, family and others.” Pujols hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament to raise money for the foundation, and he is active in local causes — particularly the Down Syndrome Association of St. Louis.

But it was the mission to the Dominican that showed what the foundation might really be capable of. Like Clemente, Pujols has prioritized the betterment of his homeland and of Latin America in general. He hopes to make the medical missions an annual event.

“Right now, we’re going to go one year at a time,” Pujols said. “But obviously our goal is to try to do it every year.

“I want to concentrate one year at a time. But this is something that we want to do every year, to go to a different country and help people out.”

In May of this year, Pujols helped make another mark in the Dominican. The foundation presented $65,000 to the Children of Christ Orphanage in the Dominican to help build a vocational school for orphans.

“Our main goal,” said Pujols, “is to share with them what God has done in our lives and in my career, and what he has done throughout the foundation.”

Albert’s stats:

2007:

136 games

497 at bats

87 runs

158 hits

28 doubles

0 triples

30 homeruns

86 rbi’s

87 walks

56 strikeouts

With three weeks to go, Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals are at .500, and only one game out of first place in the National League Central. They are chasing two teams, the Chicago Cubs, and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals will be taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight(Saturday), and Sunday. Then they will travel to Chicago for one game on Monday, before heading to Cincinnati for three, before taking on the Cubs again for four over the weekend(double header on Saturday). Our guess here at APC is that by next Sunday, September 16th, but the end of the night we will have a pretty good idea of whether or not the Cardinals will be playing October Baseball.

First things first, the Cardinals need wins. Tonight they face Diamondbacks youngster Micah Owings, as Braden Looper goes for the Cardinals. Albert has never faced Owings in his career. Tomorrow, the Cardinals will face Doug Davis, Albert is 0 for 3 on the season, and 8-26, with a .308BA, with 2 homeruns and 8 rbi’s against Davis. On Monday, Albert and the Cardinals face Cubs lefty Ted Lilly. We will have a detailed report on that guy on Monday. For now, go Albert, go Cardinals, need some wins over the Diamondbacks!

Albert Pujols can’t always quote chapter and verse when it comes to baseball’s past, but one historical figure he knows well is Roberto Clemente. Pujols holds a deep admiration for the late Hall of Famer, both because of Clemente’s on-field skills as well as his humanitarian efforts.So it’s appropriate that for the third straight season, Pujols is the Cardinals’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. Not only is the slugger a superstar in the batter’s box, but his Pujols Family Foundation does more good work every year.

The Clemente Award recognizes the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team. It is named in honor of the former Pirates outfielder whose spirit and goodwill will always be remembered. Clemente died in a plane crash while attempting to transport relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua on Dec. 31, 1972. The winner will be announced during the World Series.

The foundation took a major step forward in 2007, when Pujols led a group of doctors to the Dominican Republic to tend to roughly 1,000 poor children in need of medical assistance. Pujols missed the Cardinals’ trip to the White House in order to participate in the mission.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Pujols said at the time of the trip. “Just giving love to those kids, cleaning teeth, seeing what kind of surgery they need. … Taking clothes, food, whatever we can do to help those kids out. You’re talking about kids that lost their mom and dad when they were six months old, a year old. They haven’t gotten love from their parents. We want to give that.”

The foundation was established in 2005, with the stated mission to “live and share our commitment to faith, family and others.” Pujols hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament to raise money for the foundation, and he is active in local causes — particularly the Down Syndrome Association of St. Louis.

But it was the mission to the Dominican that showed what the foundation might really be capable of. Like Clemente, Pujols has prioritized the betterment of his homeland and of Latin America in general. He hopes to make the medical missions an annual event.

“Right now, we’re going to go one year at a time,” Pujols said. “But obviously our goal is to try to do it every year.

“I want to concentrate one year at a time. But this is something that we want to do every year, to go to a different country and help people out.”

In May of this year, Pujols helped make another mark in the Dominican. The foundation presented $65,000 to the Children of Christ Orphanage in the Dominican to help build a vocational school for orphans.

“Our main goal,” said Pujols, “is to share with them what God has done in our lives and in my career, and what he has done throughout the foundation.”