Read the opposing argument from Sports Geek.
This is a fascinating debate to me. Bleacher Fan is asking Sports Geek and I to determine who we would build our franchise around if we were starting from scratch. Albert Pujols or Joe Mauer? I really don’t want to hate on Mauer because I really like him as a player. He’s an exceptional hitter. But for the purposes of this debate, this is an easy call. If I am an owner and am starting my franchise from scratch, I am choosing Albert Pujols.
Both have outstanding numbers. For a breakdown on Mauer, check on the debate by Sports Geek. But Pujols is a career .333 hitter, with 2010 being his tenth season in the big leagues. He currently has 378 career home runs, and has an outside shot at getting 400 by the end of the season. My fine mathematical skills tell me that if that happens, that would mean he has averaged 40 home runs a season in his first ten seasons. But this isn’t just a power hitter. If that’s what you want, go talk to Adam Dunn. Pujols has hit over .300 every season… and quite easily. In fact, statistically, 2010 is shaping up to be one of his worst seasons, and I definitely say that in jest. Some experts have said that Pujols is having a bad season, and I laugh at that because he is still among the leaders in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average. Coming into today’s play, he is third in the National League in home runs, fourth in RBI, and third in average.
He’s actually younger than you might think, too. He’s only 30 years old, which means, barring injury, he has several potentially great years ahead of him. It’s also important to note that he plays first base, which is not a physically demanding position. It’s arguably the least physically demanding position on the diamond. Mauer, meanwhile, is three years younger, but that is negated to some extent by the fact that he plays catcher, easily the most physically demanding position in baseball. There’s a reason that catchers often move to first base or designated hitter when they get older. There’s a reason that Scott Boras wants his next prized client, Bryce Harper (who we spotlighted in a debate last year) to play any position other than catcher. The wear and tear a catcher receives severely limits the career potential he can have.
Mauer is a fantastic athlete, as it is well documented that he was an outstanding football player in high school and left a football scholarship to Florida State on the table. But will he still be as good at 33 that he is at 27? That’s questionable. Just last year, he missed over a month with back problems, causing him to play only 109 games. In 2007, he played in only 91 games. 2010 is Mauer’s seventh year in the big leagues, and all 740 games he has played through Wednesday’s action have been at catcher. As of today, Pujols has started 1,474 games in nine and a half seasons. You do the match. Pujols is durable at a durable position. Father time will catch up with Mauer much more quickly than it will catch up with Pujols.
Both are outstanding players, but if someone gives me a blank check and wants me to start a franchise from scratch, the first guy I am going after is Albert Pujols.
