Why Albert Pujols Can Never Live Up to Expectations in L.A. with Angels

Albert Pujols has started the 2012 season with his new team homerless in his first 37 at-bats. That’s the longest homerless streak to start a season ever for Pujols, according to ESPN and the Elias Sports Bureau.

His previous-long homerless streak to start a new campaign was 27 at-bats in 2008 with the St. Louis Cardinals (he finished the 2008 season with 37 homers).

Admittedly, Pujols is barely missing pitches. He’s hitting balls deep to the outfield, but just hasn’t hit his first Angels homer yet.

Despite obvious signs of pop in his bat, the longer the Halos’ new slugger goes without hitting a bomb, the more scrutiny he’ll be under moving forward. Hitting that first home run in an Angels’ uniform will only be the first step to Pujols’ transition in Los Angeles.

The Dominican slugger will have to accomplish much more than hitting his first homer to live up to the hype surrounding a 10-year, $240-million deal, and honestly, I don’t think he ever can.

Pujols is an unbelievably talented baseball player. His 408 total home runs after his first 10 MLB seasons is the best ever for a player though his first 10 years.

But Pujols is now 32 years old. Without a doubt he’s still in his prime physically, but at 32, he’s starting a 10-year contract.

Will Angels fans get a glimpse of the Pujols we’ve all grown to know from his days in St. Louis? It’s safe to say that they will.

However, they may only get to see the Pujols we know for three or four years, five at the absolute maximum.

After that point? Well, let’s just say that Angels fans will have to temper their expectations to Alex Rodriguez-type numbers.

Rodriguez, who signed a 10-year $275 million deal in 2007 justified the contract early, but has since started his decline.

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Rodriguez hit 30 or more home runs. Last year however, injuries really derailed A-Rod’s production: Rodriguez hit .276 with just 16 homers and 62 RBI a season ago. So far this season, A-Rod is hitting .222 with one home run in 36 at-bats.

As baseball players grow older, their power numbers dip significantly. Gone are the steroid era days when Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds would get better and better with age (…allegedly).

Anyway, it’s only a matter of time before we reach the year 2021. At that point, Pujols will have eclipsed 40 years of age, but will still be cashing a check from the Angels for $30 million.

It’s absurd to think that Pujols will be the same player after 40 as he is at 32. The laws of nature simply won’t allow for that. So the time is now for Pujols to live up to the hype.

In order for Pujols to do that successfully, not only will the Halos' new first-baseman have to be productive at the plate—and by “productive” I mean putting up Pujols-type numbers—but he will have to keep playing a gold-glove quality first base, while translating everything to team success.

You play to win the game, right Herm Edwards? If the Halos don’t manage to do that with Pujols in his first few years, Pujols will not reach the hype in L.A. with the Angels.

From an organizational perspective, you add a guy like Pujols to sell tickets, to sell jerseys and to generate a buzz around the team. But the biggest reason you add arguably the best hitter in the game is to win championships.

The last time the Angels won a World Series title was in 2002, when they were still the Anaheim Angels. With some assistance from the famous Rally Monkey, guys like Garrett Anderson, David Eckstein and Tim Salmon helped lead the Angels to their first championship.

Along with the hype of a huge contract loaded with incentives comes the expectation of winning.

Unless Pujols can use his leadership to bring this Angels team back to a World Series title, I think many will view his time in California as a failure.

Can Pujols lead the Angels to a title? I certainly think he can.

Will he reach the hype in L.A. by doing so? Well, he did manage to lead last year’s Cardinals both into the playoffs and then to their second title in six seasons, so he definitely has the skills to do so.

However, I think that Angels fans will always be left wanting more.

Even if Pujols leads the Angels back to the promised land, fans will point to his past where he won two rings as a Cardinal and expect the same outcome for their favorite team.

Pujols’ reputation earned him a lot of money to play for the Angels in 2012 and beyond. However, in a “what have you done for me lately” scenario, Pujols still has a lot to prove to his new fan base.

Reaching the hype will be much easier said than done.