Mark McGwire says Albert Pujols could go down as the greatest player ever


Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 - 5:29 a.m. ET

Mark McGwire is the Cardinals' new hitting coach, which means he'll get to work with Albert Pujols every day. McGwire, who admitted Monday that he took steroids during his career, told MLB Network's Bob Costas on Monday that Pujols will become "the best baseball player to ever play this game."

"His swing is flawless. His work ethic is flawless. He is one of those guys (who) is a grinder, he's very intense, and I'm just very happy to say that I'm going to be his hitting coach and sit back and watch history be made," McGwire said.

Asked by Costas whether the players of McGwire's generation in some way created suspicion about Pujols and other stars from today, McGwire replied: "I played in the (steroid) era, but it's very sad to think that they're going to put Albert Pujols' name (in with PED users).

"The man upstairs gives us greatness only a few times in our lifetime, and this is greatness being played right before us. I just hope people understand how great this guy is, and let's just sit back, watch and enjoy it, because if you're not, you're going to be missing it."

Good that McGwire got that monkey off his back. And I agree with him, he played in the Steroid Era and as Baseball has had several different Eras, his should be judged accordingly. As for Pujols, I hope he isn't linked but I have no information otherwise and so take his word for it. If Pujols were to continue say for another 6 years to put up similar numbers to his averages for the past, I think he will have to be considered among the candidates for "best player ever."

He will need to add a few more world series titles to his resume

World titles are not a one man show in baseball. Look at Alex Rodriguez or the same Albert Pujols, great players who have two World Series between them. Far less than many inferior players:

Games Played
Rank Player G PA
1. Yogi Berra 75 295
2. Mickey Mantle 65 273
3. Elston Howard 54 189
4. Gil McDougald 53 215
Hank Bauer 53 199
6. Phil Rizzuto 52 219
7. Joe DiMaggio 51 220
8. Frankie Frisch 50 216
9. Pee Wee Reese 44 191
10. Roger Maris 41 171
Babe Ruth 41 167

Remove Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle and Berra. All the rest made many more trips than either Arod and Pujols combined. It's a team sport. You can have several of the top players on your team and still not make it into the post season; let alone win it all.

Pujuls is good.......But......

Who cares what a liar and a Cheat thinks?

Pujuls is a 1st baseman. his fielding skills are barely adequate. That is why he plays 1st base, To get his bat in the lineup. If he was in the AL he would be spending half the season as a D.H.

To be the greatest player ever you have to have mad glove skills and a Arm. I can name dozens of players with a great bat and great fielding skills who I would classify as much better than Pujuls.

Ever hear of Willie Mays? Mantle? Frank Robinson? Cal Ripken or Derrick Jetter were and are greater players.

So lets call it as it is. Albert Pujuls can be listed as one of the greatest HITTERS.

I have seen Pujols make some great plays at 1st base.... What are you talking about?

Pujols is no liability at first base. He's already won a gold glove for playing first. But I do agree with you that Willie Mays was a more complete player than Pujols. Mantle early on yes, but he got injured and was never the same. Cal Ripken no way, Derick Jeter(15 seasons), I have great respect for him, but I wouldn't put him up there because his OPS isn't nowhere near Albert's(9 seasons). I never said Pujols was the greatest, just one of the greatest. Check out their Hall Of Fame comparisons.

Batting Ave Pujols 1st Jeter 6
On-Base Plus Slugging: Pujols 1st Jeter: 42
Bat Adjusted OPS Pujols 1st Jeter: 38
Offensive Wins: Pujols 1st in Majors Jeter: 35

Rank Player (age) On-Base Plus Slugging Bats
1. Albert Pujols (29) 1.0547 R
2. Manny Ramirez (37) 1.0019 R
3. Todd Helton (35) .9938 L
4. Lance Berkman (33) .9673 B
5. Alex Rodriguez (33) .9653 R
6. Ryan Howard (29) .9613 L
7. Jim Thome (38) .9608 L
8. Vladimir Guerrero (34) .9543 R
9. Chipper Jones (37) .9468 B
10. Matt Holliday (29) .9327 R
11. Jason Giambi (38) .9325 L
12. Carlos Delgado (37) .9293 L
13. Miguel Cabrera (26) .9247 R
14. Mark Teixeira (29) .9230 B
15. David Ortiz (33) .9217 L
16. Travis Hafner (32) .9129 L
17. Ken Griffey (39) .9118 L
18. David Wright (26) .9072 R
19. Gary Sheffield (40) .9070 R
20. Jim Edmonds (39) .9051 L
21. Adam Dunn (29) .9030 L
22. Brian Giles (38) .9022 L
23. Chase Utley (30) .9019 L
24. Bobby Abreu (35) .8962 L
25. Jason Bay (30) .8959 R
J.D. Drew (33) .8959 L
27. Moises Alou (42) .8850 R
28. Magglio Ordonez (35) .8842 R
29. Nomar Garciaparra (35) .8821 R
30. Derrek Lee (33) .8734 R
31. Scott Rolen (34) .8679 R
32. Jorge Posada (37) .8592 B
33. Carlos Pena (31) .8576 L
34. Carlos Beltran (32) .8562 B
35. Troy Glaus (32) .8560 R
36. Mike Sweeney (35) .8539 R
37. Hideki Matsui (35) .8524 L
38. Justin Morneau (28) .8513 L
39. Grady Sizemore (26) .8510 L
40. Richie Sexson (34) .8506 R
41. Nick Johnson (30) .8487 L
42. Derek Jeter (35) .8468 R
Aramis Ramirez (31) .8468 R


Rank Player (age) Adjusted OPS+ Bats
1. Albert Pujols (29) 172 R
2. Manny Ramirez (37) 155 R
3. Lance Berkman (33) 147 B
Alex Rodriguez (33) 147 R
5. Jim Thome (38) 146 L
6. Vladimir Guerrero (34) 145 R
7. Jason Giambi (38) 143 L
Chipper Jones (37) 143 B
9. Ryan Howard (29) 142 L
10. Miguel Cabrera (26) 140 R
Travis Hafner (32) 140 L
Todd Helton (35) 140 L
Gary Sheffield (40) 140 R
14. Carlos Delgado (37) 138 L
15. Brian Giles (38) 136 L
Ken Griffey (39) 136 L
Mark Teixeira (29) 136 B
David Wright (26) 136 R
19. David Ortiz (33) 134 L
20. Matt Holliday (29) 133 R
21. Bobby Abreu (35) 132 L
Adam Dunn (29) 132 L
Jim Edmonds (39) 132 L
24. Jason Bay (30) 131 R
25. J.D. Drew (33) 129 L
Chase Utley (30) 129 L
27. Moises Alou (42) 128 R
28. Magglio Ordonez (35) 127 R
29. Carlos Pena (31) 126 L
30. Nick Johnson (30) 125 L
31. Nomar Garciaparra (35) 124 R
Derrek Lee (33) 124 R
Hideki Matsui (35) 124 L
Jorge Posada (37) 124 B
Scott Rolen (34) 124 R
Grady Sizemore (26) 124 L
37. Justin Morneau (28) 123 L
38. Troy Glaus (32) 121 R
Derek Jeter (35) 121 R
Victor Martinez (30) 121 B
41. Richie Sexson (34) 120 R
42. Carlos Beltran (32) 119 B
Cliff Floyd (36) 119 L
44. Luis Gonzalez (41) 118 L
Matt Stairs (41) 118 L
Ichiro Suzuki (35) 118 L
Mike Sweeney (35) 118 R

Rank Player (age) Adjusted OPS+ Bats
Fernando Tatis (34) 102 R

Rank Player (age) Offensive Win % Bats
1. Albert Pujols (29) .7808 R
2. Todd Helton (35) .7598 L
3. Manny Ramirez (37) .7326 R
4. Lance Berkman (33) .7323 B
5. Chipper Jones (37) .7157 B
6. Jim Thome (38) .7147 L
7. Ryan Howard (29) .7084 L
8. Alex Rodriguez (33) .7052 R
9. Jason Giambi (38) .6955 L
10. Matt Holliday (29) .6952 R
11. Chase Utley (30) .6903 L
12. Gary Sheffield (40) .6866 R
13. Bobby Abreu (35) .6822 L
14. David Wright (26) .6809 R
15. Vladimir Guerrero (34) .6803 R
16. Carlos Delgado (37) .6777 L
17. Mark Teixeira (29) .6772 B
18. Brian Giles (38) .6761 L
19. Travis Hafner (32) .6756 L
20. Adam Dunn (29) .6753 L
21. J.D. Drew (33) .6742 L
22. Miguel Cabrera (26) .6726 R
23. David Ortiz (33) .6711 L
24. Jason Bay (30) .6676 R
25. Ken Griffey (39) .6670 L
26. Jim Edmonds (39) .6593 L
27. Moises Alou (42) .6495 R
28. Scott Rolen (34) .6352 R
29. Derrek Lee (33) .6308 R
30. Nomar Garciaparra (35) .6295 R
31. Grady Sizemore (26) .6274 L
32. Carlos Beltran (32) .6261 B
33. Nick Johnson (30) .6254 L
34. Ichiro Suzuki (35) .6214 L
35. Derek Jeter (35) .6173 R
36. Magglio Ordonez (35) .6152 R
37. Hideki Matsui (35) .6150 L

Rank Player (age) Batting Average Bats
1. Albert Pujols (29) .3337 R
2. Ichiro Suzuki (35) .3328 L
3. Todd Helton (35) .3280 L
4. Vladimir Guerrero (34) .3213 R
5. Matt Holliday (29) .3182 R
6. Derek Jeter (35) .3172 R
7. Manny Ramirez (37) .3132 R
8. Nomar Garciaparra (35) .3127 R
9. Magglio Ordonez (35) .3120 R
10. Miguel Cabrera (26) .3112 R
11. David Wright (26) .3086 R
12. Chipper Jones (37) .3075 B
13. Robinson Cano (26) .3065 L
14. Alex Rodriguez (33) .3048 R
15. Moises Alou (42) .3032 R
Placido Polanco (33) .3032 R



Hall Of Fame Statistics Player rank in (·

Black Ink Batting - 34 (47), Average HOFer ˜ 27
Gray Ink Batting - 189 (48), Average HOFer ˜ 144
Hall of Fame Monitor Batting - 226 (31), Likely HOFer ˜ 100
Hall of Fame Standards Batting - 48 (91), Average HOFer ˜ 50

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Hall Of Fame Statistics Player rank in (·
Black Ink Batting - 6 (334), Average HOFer ˜ 27
Gray Ink Batting - 129 (136), Average HOFer ˜ 144
Hall of Fame Monitor Batting - 274 (17), Likely HOFer ˜ 100
Hall of Fame Standards Batting - 63 (25), Average HOFer ˜ 50

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Well done Atabey!

Anthony surely is a yankee fan !! haha!

I was surprised to see Helton top Manny at anything!

"A" Gold glove?

WOW!!!! "A" Gold Glove at First base!

We all know that teams put their Best defensive players at 1st base.

Roberto Clemente is spinning in his grave.

If Puljols was in the AL he would be a DH.

Don't you wish he was on your team?