DH Steroid Witchhunt: Albert Pujols

There is no doubt that this man is a measuring stick for all big league hitters being measured. He is the greatest in the game today, and probably will be the best in my lifetime. Emerging on the scene in 2001 from seemingly nowhere, to have one of the greatest rookie seasons in Major League history, Albert Pujols is one of my favorite players to watch. No one can question his talent. His plate coverage, ability to make adjustments to pitchers that have studied him like the Korran, and having so much power while being able to hit for average all while not striking out much leave me in awe of this all world superstar. Tony Larussa once called him “The Great Pujols” immediately after Pujols hit a walk off homer against Brad Lidge and the Astros in the 2005 NLCS to keep the Cardinals alive.

But, there is a dark cloud that looms over Mr. “Pooholes” as a friend of mine calls him. Fans of baseball and moreso fans of Pujols in the Cardinals know what I am talking about, no matter how much the matter has been swept under the rug. Let’s start with a name that some might have recognition with. Chris Mihlfeld, a Kansas city based trainer that has been working with Pujols for several years has been linked to steroid usage before. This occurred when Jason Grimsley snitched and fingered everyone out he could to save his own butt. Are we saying this alone has caused us to raise suspicion, absolutely not. Has it caused us to open our eyes a bit and wonder whether or not Pujols gave into the temptation to become what he is today, superhuman? It sure has. One cannot deny that there is some evidence that supports Albert Pujols being an illegal substance user. Maybe it isn’t steroids, ok (Pujols has never tested positive to a steroid drug test), but there’s some kind of Tyranosauras Rex hormone he’s been drinking in his sport drink since his youth before entering the Major Leagues.

That brings on the next point. Pujols defenders will say that Albert has ‘been big’ since his inception into the league in 2001. When Albert was a rookie, he was just 21 years of age. Say it with me 21. The fact that he was always that big does not help his case in any way shape or form. I’ve played the game a long time. I’ve been around it even longer. I have NEVER, EVER seen some type of genetic freak that looked like that as a 21 year old, and if I did, it wasn’t in the sport of baseball.

To touch on another point, and we’re simply speculating here, it wouldn’t be a witchhunt without speculation now would it? Back in the summer of 2005 I read a story in which it stated in a years time, 2 major superstars would be named as testing positive for steroids, these names would bring the league and it’s integrity to it’s knees. Forgive me for not being able to track down the article, but time passed, nothing happened, and I forgot about it. The issue re-surfaced last season, as some of my sources told me that the two superstars were as I first suspected: Albert Pujols, and Roger Clemens. The source told me two things, that Pujols went on the disabled list in collaboration with Major League Baseball to serve his suspension. If Pujols went on the DL, (which he needed anyway due to a bad foot arch), he would not be named publicly for failing a test for a banned substance, steroids. The source also indicated to me that Roger Clemens was serving his suspension and waiting until it was over to return to baseball mid-season, which he did for the Astros. Both moves left baseball and it’s superstars and sure-fire future Hall of Famers out of the limelight, and did not bring it to its knees. Once again, it was strictly a rumor from a good source, but it did raise my eyebrows.

Pujols is a great man, and an even better baseball player. We love watching him play, and hope that his status along with his stats have been earned without outside help. This would really hurt my belief in greatness ever again to have Pujols ever come up dirty. I knew back when the steroids hype broke out, it was a matter of time till Pujols’ name came up. Will we ever know for sure, most likely not. Baseball, like other parts in life is largely political. You can’t blame the business side of the organization for protecting itself and it’s superstars. Our opinion? See for yourself:

Steroid User Rating/Probability: 70.2%

Roider Status: In Serious Question