Albert Pujols: How He Stacks Up to Other First Basemen Who Have Switched Leagues

The enormous sound we heard last weekend was southern California breathing a sigh of relief after Albert Pujols hit his first home run as a member of the Angels.

The collective groan heard from the Midwest was from Cardinals fans, dismayed that the drought didn't last forever.

This isn't quite what the Angels had in mind when they signed the free-agent first baseman away from St. Louis.  

He will have to hit at a torrid rate from here on out to even have a respectable season by his standards.

He may turn things around.  However, until he actually does it, it's a matter of varying degrees of if and when.

Here's a look at a few other first basemen who switched leagues or teams and the numbers they put up in year one.

I think I sense something else as well, the sense of nervous, tense, angst is Angels fans who are hoping that Pujols' homer last Sunday wasn't a fluke.

Check out how some other first baseman past and present have fared or are faring after switching leagues.

Big Mac

Let's look first at the guy who preceded Pujols at the position in St. Louis, Mark McGwire.  

He joined the Cardinals for the final 51 games of the 1997 season via a trade from Oakland which differs from Pujols who's starting the season from scratch with the Angels.

McGwire may or may not have been on enhancers that he'd rather not speak about and prefers remain in the past.

That said he batted .253 with 24 homers and 42 RBI.

We're all well aware of this history that was made in 1998, his first full season in the National League.

Adam Dunn

If anyone can relate to what Pujols is going through it's Adam Dunn.  He's always been boom or bust but his first year in the A.L. was brutal.  Talk about starting bad and staying bad.  

Last year, his first on the South Side was beyond forgettable.  His .159 average was 56 points under his previous career low.  This obviously led to his subpar 11 home runs and 42 RBI.

This year, he's right on his career average of .243 and has hit 10 home runs and driven in 25 runs to this point.

Mark Teixeira

Tex got his first taste of life in the N.L. in 2007 when he was traded from Texas to Atlanta.

In exactly a third of a season he hit .317 with 17 homers and 56 RBI.

A seamless transition if there ever was one.

Adrian Gonzalez

Gonzalez's move from San Diego to Boston wasn't his first time switching leagues.

Many people don't know he was drafted by the Marlins before being traded to the Rangers.

He played in 59 games in two seasons in Texas before being traded to his hometown Padres in 2006.

In his first year in San Diego he batted .304 with 24 long balls and 82 RBI.  He's been putting up numbers ever since.  Switching back to the A.L. again didn't even slow him down, he's remained very solid in Boston as well.

Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder was the other big free-agent first baseman along with Pujols last year.  

Like Albert, Prince is transitioning to life in the other league with the Detroit Tigers.

Things are going much smoother as he's batting .296, has gone deep five times and has 15 RBI, which makes Pujols struggles all the more head scratching.

Miguel Cabrera

Prince Fielder isn't alone when it comes to getting off to a good start in Detroit.  

Miguel Cabrera was traded to the Tigers by the Marlins in December 2007.

He made himself at home, batting .292 with 37 homers and 127 RBI in 2008.

 He and Fielder should wreak havoc on opposing pitching staffs all season long.

Carlos Pena

Pena went to the north side and joined the Cubs for a year after several successful seasons with the Rays . 

He hit .196 with 28 home runs and 84 RBI.  One Adam Dunn-like season average wise was enough as he went back to the comfort of Tampa to start this season.

He's currently batting .235 with 5 homers and 15 RBI.