The St. Louis Cardinals have played 122 games during the 2010 MLB season and Albert Pujols name has not been talked about as much as it has been in the past. The hype of coming off back-to-back MVP seasons could be tough to live up to, unless you are Pujols. Pujols is quietly having himself another MVP caliber season.
In fact, Pujols currently leads the NL with 32 HRs and 89 RBIs while hitting .316 which is .007 behind the leader (Joey Votto). It is time to start to think about the Triple Crown. Can Pujols pull off the Triple Crown this season? His name seems to be brought up with Triple Crown possibilities every year, but he has only won the batting title once (2003) and the home-run title once (2009). This year his main competition seems to be Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. Votto leads the NL in batting (.323), he is 3rd in HR (29) and second in RBI (86).
Despite the great numbers that Pujols is putting up this season, he hasn’t received the same media attention as in the past. I have come up with a few reasons why this could be:
- It is expected of him. Let’s face it, when you think Albert Pujols, you think great hitter. It is no surprise that he is among the league leaders in several major hitting categories at this time of the year. If he had 20 HRs, 60 RBI and .270 AVG, he would certainly be in the media more often because it would be surprising.
- The Reds are stealing the show. Not only is Votto, Pujols’ main competition, but the Reds currently have a 3 game lead on the Cards in the NL Central. The Reds success is more of a story than Pujols because it is somewhat surprising. They have a very young and talented team and it will be interesting if they can hold on down the stretch.
- Josh Hamilton‘s resurgence in the American League is a better individual story. Hamilton was great two seasons ago (his first year with Texas), but last season injuries really held him back. Now he leads the majors in batting average (.357) and he is among the top 5 in the AL in RBI (88) and HR (28). He is my pick for the MVP.
What do you think? Is Pujols under the radar? Will this be the year we have a Triple Crown winner?
Photo Credit: AP/Bob Levey via SportsBettingChamp.org
