Just one day before the Cardinals and 24-year-old Albert Pujols were set to meet in Phoenix, Arizona, for an arbitration hearing, the two sides agreed to the richest contract in team history, one that would keep the young star in St. Louis through the 2011 season and two World Series championships. On February 19, 2004, Pujols […]
After Albert Pujols signed a record 10-year, $254-million contract with the Angels following the 2011 season, the Cardinals had a short list of free agents who could fill their sudden need for an impact bat. Carlos Beltran was at the top of the list. On December 22, 2011, the Cardinals signed the 1999 American League Rookie
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At spring training, Tony La Russa found that he had no choice – he had to put Albert Pujols in the lineup. By the end of the season, voters saw the same – and unanimously named him the 2001 National League Rookie of the Year. Pujols received all 32 votes (two voters from each National
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After rallying from 10 ½ games back in the National League wild-card race and falling behind five separate times in their 10-9 Game 6 victory over the Rangers, a 2-0 first-inning deficit didn’t seem like much for the 2011 Cardinals to overcome. Six unanswered runs later, the Cardinals had a 6-2 victory in World Series
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With three home runs in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, Albert Pujols didn’t just correct course after an 0-for-6 start to the Fall Classic. With three blasts in the final four innings of Game 3, Pujols joined Babe Ruth (1926 and 1928) and Reggie Jackson (1977) as the only players in baseball history
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The St. Louis Cardinals were never supposed to reach the 2011 NLCS. Not after Adam Wainwright went down with a season-ending injury in spring training. Not after they fell 10 games behind the Brewers in the National League Central Division and 10 ½ games behind the Braves in the wild card standings on August 24.
Game 1 of the 2011 NLCS had been a tough one for Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. After jumping out to a 5-2 lead, the Cardinals allowed a pair of two-run home runs in the fifth inning of what turned into a 9-6 Brewers win. Most frustrating for Pujols was his at-bat in
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With four weeks remaining and a sizeable gap between the Cardinals and a playoff berth, Tony La Russa wanted to line up his pitching rotation for the home stretch of the regular season. To make it happen, he called upon Brandon Dickson, a rookie right-hander who had spent almost the entire season in Memphis, to
On the day that Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter celebrated his 30th birthday, it was Mark Grudzielanek who stole the show. In the Cardinals’ 6-3 victory over the Brewers on April 27, 2005, Grudzielanek joined Lou Brock and Ray Lankford as the only Cardinals to hit for the cycle at Busch Stadium. The veteran of 11
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Albert Pujols chose an ideal moment for his first career home run. The 2001 Cardinals had just lost their first three games, allowing 32 runs during a winless season-opening series against the Rockies. The series hadn’t gone any better for Pujols, who went just 1-for-9 in Colorado, including 0-for-5 in the second game of the
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