World Series 2011: How Would a Comeback Impact Albert Pujols' Free Agency?

As the World Series could potentially be coming to a close, I had to start thinking about the implications of the results on Albert Pujols.

If the St. Louis Cardinals are able to come back from this deficit and win the World Series, will that make him more or less likely to stay?

I personally understand both sides of the argument.

If the Cardinals are able to win the World Series, he will no doubt be even more of a hero after this epic postseason. He very well could find it difficult to walk away from the champions and city that adores him. He has spent over a decade in St. Louis. It might be hard to leave after that long and with that much success.

On the other hand, this could be a nice way to close out his tenure in St. Louis if they win the World Series. What better gift to leave the franchise than a World Series trophy? He would have been part of the ultimate award, and he would have accomplished everything that is possible to accomplish in front of the loyal St. Louis fan base.

Of course, this is all speculation if St. Louis is even able to engineer a comeback. After such an amazing postseason, the potential World Series victory would make this entire campaign the ultimate success.

Albert Pujols has been a huge contributor to this franchise for many years, so it will be interesting to see if a World Series trophy or lack thereof might affect his decision to remain in St. Louis.