Albert Pujols Signing with Los Angeles Angels Was the Best Thing for His Career

Signing with the Los Angeles Angels was the best thing for Albert Pujols' career.

On the surface, it's a shame for the St. Louis Cardinals that they are going to lose their best player and feel the effects of Pujols' departure for years to come.

But in my mind, I don't think Pujols had a choice. The move to Los Angeles made too much sense for him to do anything else, and here's why.

The Money

In my opinion, Albert Pujols is the best player in the MLB today. His numbers might not be the best, but nobody can match what Pujols has done for a decade. It'll take more than one "down" year for me to believe otherwise.

That being said, Albert certainly deserved to be paid like the best player in baseball and the Angels' offer did just that.

He won't be paid as high as Alex Rodriguez,  a player he is certainly better than, but we all know that A-Rod's contract from the Texas Rangers was a huge mistake.

The money from Los Angeles was most likely the best offer he got and he would've been crazy not to take it. I think we can all agree on that.

Long-Term Contract

The biggest problem we heard about signing Pujols was going to be the 10 years he was seeking in a new contract.

The concern being that Pujols wouldn't be able to honor the length of such a contract because he is already 31.

That didn't matter for the Angels as they gave him all the years he was looking for while there wasn't any other team who could apparently match the years and the money that LA was able to cough up.

With this deal, the Angels were able to offer him long-term stability for the remainder of his days on the baseball diamond and that's not something you get a chance to have very often when you're a professional athlete.

Most importantly, for Pujols, he won't be thrown out with the trash when he gets older.

Opportunity for a Longer Career

At 31, a ten-year deal would seem impossible to live up to, taking Pujols all the way to 41. At that age, he will almost certainly be a shell of his old physical self and might not be able to perform at a high level anymore defensively.

Enter the DH. It's the single position in baseball that can pro-long a star like Pujols' career longer than if he were in the National League.

In his new situation in Los Angeles, Pujols can play DH and first base while he still has the physical ability now, and later will be able to move to full-time DH when his body starts to break down.

This ensures that the Angels will have Pujols' bat, his best feature, in the lineup all the time regardless of what age he might be.

The Cardinals, or any National League team for that matter, could never dream of matching such an opportunity for career longevity. Signing with Los Angeles might have just added some years onto Pujols' career.

Better Manager in Los Angeles

I'm not sure if Tony La Russa retiring after the 2011 season was just a coincidence, or perhaps the Hall of Fame manager knew his best player was unlikely to return and now was the time to hang it up.

Regardless of what he knew, La Russa is no longer the manager in St. Louis and in his place, rookie manager Mike Matheny will take over the ship.

On the other hand, the Angels have one of the best managers in baseball in Mike Scioscia who routinely has his team in the playoff hunt year in and year out.

Not to mention, the Angels' manager knows how to win the World Series.

Managers aren't the single most important thing on a baseball team, but having a guy with the experience of Scioscia is much better than having a first-year manager like Matheny.

Better Chance to Break Records

I have already gone into detail about how playing in the American League will pro-long Pujols' career because of the DH.

A longer career for a great player like Pujols will mean more broken records. If you think guys with the ability of Pujols don't like the recognition of breaking records, you're crazy.

All the money the Angels will be paying him late in his career will be well worth it with all the attention he and the team will be getting. And for Pujols, he has a chance to be considered one of the greatest ever to play the game with every record he breaks.

I could be mistaken, but that's a win-win situation right there.

In Conclusion

I certainly don't blame Pujols for making the decision he did to leave his long-time hometown team in St. Louis for the bright, sunny atmosphere of Los Angeles.

And he definitely doesn't deserve the LeBron James "decision" comparison at all, which is a comparison I've seen drawn already. Both cases are completely different.

In the end, it will be a devastating proposition for life in St. Louis without Pujols, but still, he did bring them two World Series rings during his tenure and he doesn't owe them anything.

I could even argue that without Pujols, the Cards don't win one ring.

A new and interesting venture begins for Pujols in Los Angeles, and I can honestly say I don't blame him one bit for taking the money and the new challenge.