Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara, better known as Albert Pujols, is a Dominican American professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals, where he received three National LeagueMVP awardsand was a nine-time MLB All-Star. He was also an All-Star with the Angels in 2015...
NationalityDominican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth16 January 1980
CitySanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
CountryDominica
A lot of people said I could be a good player. I just wanted the opportunity to show it. I just let it happen.
I'm a really smart player. If you tell me something, I get it quickly. If there is something wrong with my hitting, tell me what's wrong and I'll pick it up right away. That's the best thing I have going for me, my ability to listen to a coach and fix what I'm doing wrong.
I know they're going through a tough time. It's terrible to see a great player like that going down, but that's going to happen in your career.
It's awesome when you hear people compare you to Barry. He's the best player in the game right now. It'd be tough to put (up) those numbers. I don't try to compare myself with anybody. I don't get caught up. You're going to start taking things for granted. I just want to be myself and do the best player I can be.
It might be surprising to you guys, ... but it doesn't surprise us at all. Our pitching has been outstanding. Our bullpen does its job. Our position players are doing what they need to do. When that happens, you can't be shocked.
It's just an honor to get this award. I want thank all the players. It shows a lot of respect that the players have for me. There were so many players that had a great year.
A lot of the fans and even the players miss Barry, ... I wish he would've been healthy and played, but I don't think about (his absence). I don't think about the past. I think about the present and the future and just try to stay healthy during the year, hopefully, and help my team to win like I did.
This year was a tough year for us,
This year, my job was to strike out less and walk more,
Mike Matheny, Fernando Vina, Edgar Renteria, Mark McGwire and Darryl Kile... before he died. Those guys took me under their wing and taught me the way to play the game the right way.
In regards to core training, I try to incorporate the medicine ball whenever possible. As a baseball player, there is a lot of twisting and turning that I will do. Keeping my abs strong is as important as anything else.
I'm in the gym three to four days a week, depending on how I'm feeling. With chest, legs and back being the most important parts of any athlete's body, I try to train these on separate days with at least a day off in between.
My dad always supported me. Sometimes we didn't have anything to eat for breakfast, but if we could eat lunch and dinner, we weren't poor.
God is the Man, and there's another Man, Stan 'The Man' Musial in St. Louis.