Tickets will soon be on sale for the first events leading up to the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, during the annual Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up, MLB will place Tickets on sale for All-Star FanFest, as well as Taco Bell All-Star Sunday. Those Tickets may be purchased at stlcardinals.com and allstargame.com, and at the Winter Warm-Up.

The 19th annual All-Star FanFest will take place from Friday, July 10 through Tuesday, July 14 — the day of the All-Star Game at Busch Stadium. The “interactive baseball theme park” will be held at the America’s Center in downtown St. Louis.

Tickets for FanFest cost $30 for adults and $25 for children, with ages two and under admitted for free. Senior citizens and military personnel may also buy Tickets at the reduced price. Additionally, Family Packs of four, five, six or seven Tickets may be purchased at a $5 discount.

Taco Bell All-Star Sunday is the first on-field event of the All-Star festivities, set for Sunday, July 12. The XM All-Star Futures Game features rising stars of the Minor Leagues, and in past years, participants have included Josh Hamilton, Ryan Howard, Evan Longoria, Justin Morneau, Hanley Ramirez, CC Sabathia and David Wright.

Sunday also brings the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game, including stars from various realms of pop culture as well as former greats from the diamond.

Tickets for Taco Bell All-Star Sunday cost from $50-$75.

Just over a month to go until two time MVP Albert Pujols and his St. Louis Cardinals report to Jupiter Florida for Spring Training 2009! We here at www.albertpujolsclub.com CANNOT wait. Not much being said about Albert’s offseason surgery, but we figure he will be JUST FINE!
Go Cardinals!

ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals on Friday announced two big draws for the club’s annual Winter Warm-Up. The club confirmed that two-time National League MVP Albert Pujols will attend and also released the extensive list of auction items that will be available to fans in attendance.

Passes for the 13th annual Winter Warm-Up are still available and may be purchased at stlcardinals.com. Each pass, which is good for all three days of the event, costs $40 for those 16 and older and $10 for ages 5-15.

Kids under 5 are admitted free. Additionally, members of the military, police and fire departments with an active ID will receive one free adult pass, which must be obtained by coming to the Cardinals offices.

The club did not divulge any autograph times for the 2009 Warm-Up, which takes place Saturday through Monday, Jan. 17-19. Proceeds from the Winter Warm-Up benefit Cardinals Care, the team’s charitable arm.

In addition to announcing Pujols’ attendance, the Cardinals also released the list of auction items, and it is lengthy. Among the items available in live auctions on stage over the course of the weekend are autographed, game-used jerseys from Pujols, Yadier Molina, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick, as well as “broadcaster for a day” and “reporter for a day” packages.

Moreover, autographed baseballs, photos and game-used items from an extremely wide range of Cardinals players will be available at silent auctions over the course of the weekend.

And you thought the awards had dried up for Albert Pujols.

Monday brought one more accolade for the Cardinals superstar, who was chosen as the 2008 Hitter of the Year in MLB.com’s annual This Year in Baseball Awards presented by State Farm. The award was voted on by fans, and a record 12 million ballots were cast — eclipsing last year’s total of 9.6 million.

Pujols beat out nine other contenders, taking 19 percent of the votes to claim his second career win in the Hitter category (2003). Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox came in second, with 16.4 percent, followed by the Twins’ Justin Morneau, at 14.5 percent, and the Phillies’ Ryan Howard, at 13.1 percent. Farther down the ballot were Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun, Carlos Delgado, Josh Hamilton and Mark Teixeira.

“I would say this year was [my] best because of the consistency that I had from Day 1, all the way to the end of the season,” Pujols said recently. “I was really patient at the plate.”

The selection of Pujols ended a trend in the balloting for Hitter of the Year. Each of the previous four winners hailed from the American League East, with Alex Rodriguez winning in 2007, Derek Jeter in 2006, and David Ortiz in 2004 and ‘05. Pujols’ performance, however, was so spectacular as to overcome even Pedroia’s huge built-in fan base.

It made for what was pretty much a clean sweep for the St. Louis slugger. Pujols was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and he won the Roberto Clemente Award for excellence on and off the field. He was also named the NL or Major League Player of the Year by the Sporting News, the MLB Players Association and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and was also the NL MVP in Baseball Prospectus’ Internet Baseball Awards.

There was virtually no debate.

And why should there be? Pujols batted .357, second in the NL and the second-highest mark of his career. He finished second in the league with a career-best .462 on-base percentage and led the NL with a .653 slugging percentage that was 18 points off his career high.

And the counting stats weren’t bad, either. Pujols racked up 37 home runs, drove in 116 runs, scored 100 runs, laced 44 doubles and drew 104 walks against 54 strikeouts.

2+ months to go until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. Albert seems to be healing well from his offseason surgery and the 2008, and two time Most Valuable Player is hungry for another playoff berth. After sitting out in October the last two seasons, you can bet the Birds on the Bat, STL Cardinals will make a run this season. The offseason is going to be interesting, as the Birds look to shore up their 2009 roster. Get all the latest here at www.albertpujolsclub.com !

YES!! Albert Pujols, is just what we thought, once again MVP! 2008 MVP, Albert Pujols edges out Ryan Howard for the award! Congrats ALBERT!!!!

ST. LOUIS — The National League’s best player has also been named its most valuable.

Albert Pujols’ magnificent season earned him his second NL Most Valuable Player Award. Pujols’ 369 points bested the 308 points garnered by Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, who beat him out by a narrow margin to win the 2006 MVP.

Pujols has finished in the top 10 in the voting in every one of his eight Major League seasons, and has been fourth or better seven times. He is the 11th player to win two NL MVP Awards, and he’s one of three active players with a pair of MVPs. Additionally, Pujols became the third player, along with Sammy Sosa in 1998 and Rod Carew in 1977, to win the MVP and the Roberto Clemente Award in the same year.

“I have to thank my teammates,” Pujols said at a news conference at Busch Stadium on Monday afternoon. “Obviously this is not an award that you win by yourself. My teammates were involved every day, day in and day out, supporting me, getting on base and driving me in. These kinds of numbers, you can’t do it by yourself.”

One of those teammates, Ryan Ludwick, even garnered some MVP consideration himself. Ludwick finished 16th in the balloting with 17 points. He was named on seven ballots out of 32.

Pujols received 18 first-place votes, 10 seconds, two thirds, a fourth and a seventh. He was the only player named on every ballot. He is the first Dominican player to be named MVP twice.

“I couldn’t believe [that],” Pujols said. “There are so many great [Dominican] players. There was one that was in the vote: Manny Ramirez. He’s just a great player, great hitter. Being the first one, I was excited. Hopefully I won’t be the last. Hopefully there will be many more players, not just from the Dominican Republic, but from Latin America.”

As baseball waited to hear the results of the ballot, the discussion centered on the definition of “most valuable.” Some argued that because Pujols’ Cardinals did not make the postseason, he could not be the most valuable player in the league. It was the only possible case against Pujols, who was indisputably his league’s best hitter and who plays Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base.

Albert Pujols views MVP voting a little differently these days.

“You have to consider everything. You have to put all the numbers together,” the St. Louis star said Monday after powering past Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard to win the award for the second time.

Pujols won despite the Cardinals finishing in fourth place, the lowest spot for an NL MVP winner since Andre Dawson and Chicago Cubs wound up sixth in 1987. Howard led the majors in home runs and RBIs for the World Series champs.

The result surely will renew a debate that Pujols once raised himself: What qualifies as “most valuable”?

In 2006, a month after leading the Cardinals to the World Series crown, Pujols carped when Howard—whose Phillies missed the playoffs—captured the coveted award.

“I see it this way: Someone who doesn’t take his team to the playoffs doesn’t deserve to win the MVP,” Pujols said at that time.

Shortly thereafter, Pujols clarified his remarks and said Howard certainly was worthy of the award.

“I think the writers made the right choice in 2006,” Pujols reiterated Monday. “He did deserve it.”

Just as Pujols believed he earned it this year.

“I wasn’t surprised at all,” he said.

Pujols hit .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing with a sore right elbow that required surgery. Howard hit 48 homers with 146 RBIs for the Phillies.

Voting was completed before the playoffs began.

“I’m happy I didn’t have to make that decision,” Pujols said on a conference call from his St. Louis home. “What you do for your team. The players who take their teams to the playoffs should have some consideration.”

Los Angeles outfielder Manny Ramirez and Milwaukee pitcher CC Sabathia, who both led postseason pushes after being traded by AL teams in July, also drew strong support.

Pujols got 18 of the 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and had 369 points. Howard drew 12 first-place votes and 308 points.

Pujols added to the MVP award he won in 2005, and was the only player listed on every ballot. The All-Star first baseman became the 25th multiple MVP winner in either league.

Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun was third with 139 points, with Ramirez fourth at 138. Houston’s Lance Berkman was fifth and Sabathia sixth.

Brad Lidge, perfect on 41 save chances for the Phillies during the regular season, drew the other two first-place votes and came in eighth.

Pujols was remarkably consistent all year—a trait he’s demonstrated throughout his career. He is the only big leaguer to hit at least 30 home runs in his first eight seasons in the majors, and has finished in the top 10 of the NL MVP voting each year.

Pujols led the league in slugging percentage and intentional walks. He drew 104 walks while striking out only 54 times, and was second in the NL with a .462 on-base percentage.

Almost single-handedly, when the Cardinals’ rotation was depleted by injuries, he kept St. Louis in contention while batting .398 in the month of August. The Cardinals finished 86-76, 11 1/2 games behind the Central champion Cubs.

In mid-October, Pujols had surgery for nerve irritation in his right elbow, an ailment that caused numbness, tingling in his ring finger and pinkie, a weak grip and pain inside his forearm. He hopes to resume weight training after Thanksgiving and is expected to be ready for spring training.

“I had some pain,” he said. “The worst part was the last two months.”

Pujols said there was still a slight chance he might need Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery.

“I’m crossing my fingers,” he said.

Howard was hitting under .200 toward the end of May. His slow starts have cost him—this year, he was the first player since Cincinnati’s Hank Sauer in 1948 to be left off the All-Star team despite leading his league in homers and RBIs at the break.

Howard’s best month came in September, when he set a team record with 32 RBIs and helped the Phillies rally to the NL East title. He hit .251 overall.

Ramirez had 138 points. He hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs after the Dodgers got him from Boston on July 31, and led Los Angeles’ push to the NL West title.

Sabathia got 121 points. He was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA after Milwaukee acquired him from Cleveland on July 6, and helped the Brewers win the wild-card spot.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who won the NL MVP last season, did not receive a single vote this year.

Pujols earned a $200,000 bonus for winning the award. Ramirez got $75,000 and Braun got $50,000.

The AL MVP will be announced Tuesday. A close vote is anticipated, with Minnesota’s Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau among the top contenders along with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis.

As we get numerous emails about what to do with this club during the offseason, we are asking you, the valuable readers again, what would you like to see from this website during the offseason? Reply to this post, or any of them, and let’s get some great ideas flowing. THis is for you the readers! Go Albert!

Albert’s shoulder surgery went well. Good news- Albert WILL be ready for Spring Training! We can’t wait! We will let you know the latest on Albert’s off season!