Albert Pujols

This past winter, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed Albert Pujols to a 10-year/$254 million contract and I think that was a really really stupid decision by Albert.  You see, Albert played for the St. Louis Cardinals for the past 11 years where he won 2 World Series, 3 MVP's, 9 All-Star Selections, 6 Silver Sluggers, 2 Gold Gloves, and the 2001 Rookie of the Year.  He played for a team that has won the second most World Series Titles (11) in history, is Top 5 in All-Time Wins and Winning Percentage and is considered one of the most prestigious teams in Major League Baseball.  Now he plays for a team that has one World Series Title (2002) and if you look at their history prior to 2002 was one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball.  In other words, he went from one of the most historic teams to one of the worst teams.  That's like going from the Green Bay Packers to the Buffalo Bills or the Harlem Globetrotters to the Washington Generals.

And now comes the part where I explain why I loath his decision.  In the 11 years he played with the Cardinals, he earned roughly $120 million and when it came time to give Pujols a new contract, the Cardinals offered him a very lucrative contract worth over $200 million.  Instead of staying with his original team, he accepted the deal from the Angels that was giving him an extra $50 million and left.  You may ask yourself why this is a big deal and why taking the bigger contract is a bad thing.  The answer is simple.  The guy had already earned over $100 million which is more than enough money to set yourself up to live comfortably for the rest of your life, so when you are about to make another $200 no matter which team you choose, why take the extra cash and leave the team that drafted you, believed in you, and payed you more money than any of us will ever see combined (unless one of our readers is extremely rich, then what's up, you wanna hang out)?  Basically, is there really a difference between $200 million and $250 million when you have already made over $100 million?  Is that really a big enough of a difference to abandon the only team you have ever known and crush the fans that have pulled for you and bought your jersey and praised you for the past 11 years?  The answer is no.  And that is why I think Albert Pujols is an idiot.

"Hahahaha, I can finally buy an island volcano and fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a super villain!"