The St. Louis Cardinals Should Name Albert Pujols El Capitán

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Today, José Alberto Pujols Alcántara, was named the unanimous choice for his third National League Most Valuable Player award. It wouldn't surprise me if he is soon named captain of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujols has clearly exemplified what it means to be a Cardinal. He is a hard working, honest, good man. It is hard to find a time in Pujols' day when he is not at the ballpark taking swings or donating his time to a local charity.

From a baseball standpoint, many would say that Albert is the best player in the game. In today's MVP voting, he received 448 points, the most possible. In comparison, the runner-up, Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramírez, received 233 points.  From a purely mathematical standpoint, we can deduct that the voters think Albert Pujols is almost twice as good as any other player in the National League.

The last St. Louis Cardinals team captain was Ken Boyer. No doubt, Ken was a great leader. Albert could in fact be one of the best leaders in baseball, right up there with Derek Jeter—the Captain.

Not only is Albert an amazing ballplayer, he is also the emotional leader of the Cardinals. If Paul Konerko and Jason Varitek can be team captain, I see no reason why the Cardinals cannot give the best player in baseball the same honor.

And while it would cost St. Louis a couple bucks to stitch some red "C's" on the front of Big Al's threads, it could really pay off in the long run. Each of the three current captains in Major League Baseball (Varitek, Konerko, and Jeter) have been with their teams for at least a decade. Giving Pujols such an honor could cement him in a Redbirds uniform for years to come, and save them a couple thousand dollars in the long run.

Pujols says he is more interested in having five World Series rings like Derek Jeter, than having seven MVPs like Barry Bonds.

The Cardinals could no doubt supress this thirst by making him El Capitán.

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