Albert Pujols was a dominant player in Major League Baseball during the 2000s, and many believe that if there was an MVP award for the decade, he would have won it. Pujols made his debut for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, and quickly established himself as a superstar. He won the Rookie of the Year award and finished fourth in the MVP voting in his first season. Over the next decade, he won the MVP award three times (2005, 2008, and 2009) and was the runner-up four times. He never finished lower than ninth in the voting while playing for the Cardinals.
Pujols was an outstanding hitter who could do it all at the plate. He won the Silver Slugger award six times, hit at least 32 home runs every season in St. Louis, won two home run titles, and collected at least 100 RBIs in every season except for 2011. Pujols batted over .300 in his first ten seasons, won the batting title in 2003, drew substantial walks, and had an OPS of over 1.000 eight times. From 2005 to 2010, he led the National League in bWAR every year.
Not only did Pujols win a lot of games for the Cardinals, but he also helped them win two World Series titles (in 2006 and 2011). He led them to the playoffs in eight of his eleven years there. When he became a free agent in 2011, his only rival in Redbird history was Stan Musial. Pujols left the Cardinals for the Los Angeles Angels, signing a massive contract, but saw diminishing returns every year, and his contract became a burden on the team. He was designated for assignment in 2021, signed with the Dodgers, and returned to St. Louis for one last year.
At the time of his retirement, Pujols was second in runs batted in (2,218), fourth in home runs (703), 10th all-time in hits (3,384), and 20th in bWAR (101.8). The only question left for Albert Pujols is whether he will be unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame or not.