Ranking the Best Moments in Albert Pujols' Career

Albert Pujols is only halfway through his career and has already put together a Hall of Fame-worthy resume.

The former St. Louis Cardinal has over 2,000 hits, 445 of which were home runs, and has amassed 1,329 RBI after 11 years in the MLB.

The current Los Angeles Angel has at least 10 more years to turn those eye-popping statistics into record-breaking ones and turn himself into one of the best players ever to take the field, if not the best ever.

If that happens, this list will have to expand beyond 10 slides. But for now, let's work with what Pujols has given us.

So without further ado, here are the Top 10 greatest moments of Albert Pujols' incredible career.

10. Signing 10-Year Contract with Angels

This winter, Albert Pujols surprised everybody by leaving the St. Louis Cardinals for Los Angeles, where he will play for the Angels and earn a whopping $254 million over 10 years.

Depending on how Pujols' career with the Angels plays out, this moment could move up or down in this list. If he cements his legacy as one of the greatest ever, it will most certainly rise. On the other hand, if Pujols is unable to live up to the expectations created by his contract, the move could go down as a career-defining mistake.

Angels fans are hoping for the former.

Regardless of how he performs on the field at the Big A, the long-term security provided by the contract makes it one of Pujols' top 10 moments. Once his playing days are over, he'll have 10 years of personal service with the Angels organization. Whatever that may include, it will ensure that Pujols is remembered for all of the right reasons.

9. Winning National League Rookie of the Year Award

Albert Pujols entered 2001 expecting to start the year at AAA Memphis. But he played well in spring training and earned himself a spot on the big league roster.

One hundred and sixty two games later, he was the National League Rookie of the Year.

Primarily playing third base, Pujols hit .329 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI. Those numbers got him all 32 first-place votes in the Rookie of the Year voting and easily beat out future stars Jimmy Rollins, Adam Dunn and Roy Oswalt.

Pujols' outstanding rookie year would prove to be a great preview of the next 10 years.

Photo courtesy of crazyboutsports.com

8. Winning "Player of the Decade" Awards

These aren't official awards like the Golden Gloves or Silver Sluggers Albert Pujols has also received. But when both ESPN and Sporting News named Pujols the "player of the decade" in reference to his unparalleled performance in the 2000's, it had to be special.

Pujols became the fourth player in baseball history to win the triple crown over a decade. The others were Ted Williams (1940's), Rogers Hornsby (1920's) and Honus Wagner (1900's). That's some pretty legendary company.

Angels fans will be hoping that Pujols has the same kind of success in the current decade.

Photo courtesy of realsportsheroes.com

7. Getting Drafted

Albert Pujols was drafted in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB draft. As the 402nd overall pick, he was not surrounded by the same kind of attention and hype as Bryce Harper has been.

Despite hitting an absurd .660 in high school, Pujols was overlooked by almost every ball club. His body had not developed into the machine that it is now and his swing still had flaws. But the Cardinals took a chance on him and after he destroyed the minor leagues, it looked like they had made a good decision.

As an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who didn't live in the United States until he was 16, being drafted and receiving a $60,000 signing bonus gave Pujols and his family a sense of economic stability that they hadn't had before.

It was the beginning of a career in baseball that just earned him another $254 million. I'm no mind reader, but I'm sure if you asked Pujols what he thought, he would undoubtedly rank the day he was drafted among the top moments of his life.

Photo courtesy of stbsports.com

6. Winning 2008 MVP Award

In 2008, Albert Pujols won his second MVP award. In doing so, he became the only Dominican player to win two.

That is the only distinguishing quality of this MVP award, which he won by hitting .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBI.

The reason this is the least special of his MVP awards, however, has a lot to do with the fact that his Cardinals missed the playoffs that year. Also, it's the in-between award that isn't as special as the first one and doesn't carry as much significance as the third. You'll see what I'm talking about in just a moment.

5. Winning 2005 MVP Award

Albert Pujols narrowly missed going to the World Series in 2005, as his Cardinals were eliminated in the NLCS at the hands of the Houston Astros.

One thing he did win, however, was his first MVP award.

2005 was the first year Pujols was able to break out of the shadow of Barry Bonds, who had won the award in each of the previous four seasons.

Armed with a stat line that included 41 home runs, 117 RBI and a .330 batting average, Pujols beat out Andruw Jones by just 27 points, the closest margin of any of his MVP seasons. It was also the first MVP award won by a Cardinal since Willie McGee won it back in 1985.

4. Winning 2009 MVP Award

Albert Pujols was walked a career-high 115 times in 2009. Despite that, he also had a career-high 47 home runs and produced 135 RBI to go along with his .327 batting average.

Most importantly, however, Pujols won his third MVP award. This put him in an elite class and essentially guaranteed him a spot in Cooperstown. It also tied him with Cardinal legend Stan Musial and made us all ask the same question—The Man or The Machine?

When Pujols won his third MVP award it got him into the conversation with the greatest players of all time. Here we are two seasons later and Pujols has done nothing to get himself out of that conversation.

Angels fans would like him to prove a couple more times why he is the best ever.

3. Winning 2008 Roberto Clemente Award

Albert Pujols cares just as much about what he does off the field as what he does on it, if not more.

In 2005, Pujols started the Pujols Family Foundation, an organization that benefits those with Down Syndrome, disabilities, life threatening illnesses and those living in poverty in the Dominican Republic.

And in 2008, Pujols won the Roberto Clemente award for his efforts. Although he didn't need the trophy, he gladly took the publicity that came with it. As someone who usually makes headlines for his play on the field, to make one because of the results he produces off of it would seem to be an important highlight.

The Angels' interest in his foundation was another factor that contributed to his signing with the team this winter. Needless to say, it is a priority for him to ensure its success. 

2. Winning the 2011 World Series

Albert Pujols capped off a rollercoaster 2011 by helping his St. Louis Cardinals to a second World Series title in five years.

While having his worst year statistically, Pujols was left off the All-Star team for the first time since 2002 and all of a sudden questions started popping up about the beginning of his decline. But he and the Cardinals went on an incredible run in September, catching the Atlanta Braves to win the Wild Card and carried their momentum into October where they won the championship in arguably the most exciting fashion ever.

The championship was the perfect ending to a great career with the Cardinals for Pujols. At first it seemed that it wouldn't be the end of his time in St. Louis. But when he was only offered a five-year contract to start the negotiations, Pujols felt disrespected by the organization he had given so much to.

Now he will be wearing a different kind of red, and if Angels fans get their way, he will win another World Series wearing that red.

1. Winning the 2006 World Series

The best moment of Albert Pujols' career came on October 27, 2006 when he won his first World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujols didn't have a great series, but his 2006 season was one to remember. He was narrowly beaten out by Ryan Howard for the MVP award and had career-highs in home runs and RBI. Had he not gone on the disabled list with a strained oblique in early June, he might have challenged Barry Bonds' single-season home run record of 73 set back in 2001.

The goal of every ballplayer is to win a World Series. Pujols accomplished this goal after six years of playing in the big leagues. It may take something epic to replace it as the best moment of his career, but if anybody is capable of something epic, it's Pujols.

Pujols is set to start a new chapter of his career, this time with the Los Angeles Angels. His break from St. Louis was surprisingly bitter and how he responds to the expectations created by his new contract may define his career.

For now though, Pujols is the face of baseball because of his success over the past 10 years. Whether he continues that success will be determined when he takes the field in his new home later this year.