Where Pujols ranks on MLB's all-time leaderboards
Baseball fans might be witnessing the end of an era in 2021, as it's potentially Albert Pujols' final season.
Pujols' wife hinted this campaign could her husband's last on Monday, although the slugger said he hasn't made up his mind yet. Whatever he decides, the future Hall of Famer will go down as one of the game's greatest players.
Here's where he ranks on MLB's all-time leaderboards.
Home runs
Rank | Player | HR |
---|---|---|
1 | Barry Bonds | 762 |
2 | Hank Aaron | 755 |
3 | Babe Ruth | 714 |
4 | Alex Rodriguez | 696 |
5 | Albert Pujols | 662 |
MLB's active home-run leader needs 34 long balls to tie Rodriguez for fourth on the all-time list. Pujols hasn't hit that many dingers since 2015 when he appeared in 157 games. With his role diminished, it's unlikely he passes or even ties A-Rod. Projection systems estimate 12-15 round-trippers for Pujols in 2021.
RBIs
Rank | Player | RBIs |
---|---|---|
1 | Hank Aaron | 2297 |
2 | Babe Ruth | 2214 |
3 | Albert Pujols | 2100 |
Pujols needs 114 RBIs to tie the legendary Ruth. In his prime, the Angels slugger was good for 100-plus driven in per season, maxing out at 137 with the Cardinals in 2006. Don't expect Pujols to pass Ruth this year, with Steamer projecting 47 RBIs from him.
Hits
Rank | Player | H |
---|---|---|
1 | Pete Rose | 4256 |
10 | Paul Molitor | 3319 |
11 | Eddie Collins | 3315 |
12 | Willie Mays | 3283 |
13 | Eddie Murray | 3255 |
14 | Nap Lajoie | 3243 |
15 | Albert Pujols | 3236 |
Pujols could ascend the all-time hits column this season. With projection systems forecasting 72-95 hits from the 41-year-old, he might move past Lajoie, Murray, Mays, and possibly even Collins and Molitor. However, there's no chance he catches Rose.
Doubles
Rank | Player | 2B |
---|---|---|
1 | Tris Speaker | 792 |
2 | Pete Rose | 746 |
3 | Stan Musial | 725 |
4 | Ty Cobb | 724 |
5 | Albert Pujols | 669 |
Pujols sits 55 behind Cobb in doubles. He might be known as "The Machine," but Pujols hasn't hit more than 51 two-baggers in a season, so don't expect any movement here.
Runs
Rank | Player | R |
---|---|---|
1 | Rickey Henderson | 2295 |
12 | Lou Gehrig | 1888 |
13 | Tris Speaker | 1882 |
14 | Mel Ott | 1859 |
15 | Craig Biggio | 1844 |
16 | Albert Pujols | 1843 |
There's a good chance the 20-year veteran will move into 12th here if he stays healthy. He averaged 52.7 runs per season between 2017-2019 while playing around 132 games, and Pujols needs 46 runs to pass Gehrig this campaign.
JAWS (1B)
Rank | Player | JAWS |
---|---|---|
1 | Lou Gehrig | 91.1 |
2 | Albert Pujols | 81.2 |
Pujols is a surefire lock for the Hall of Fame. Only Gehrig accrued a higher JAWS, which is career bWAR averaged over a player's seven-year peak in that metric. Every other first baseman in the top 10 already cemented a spot in Cooperstown.
Games played
Rank | Player | GP |
---|---|---|
1 | Pete Rose | 3562 |
8 | Cal Ripken Jr. | 3001 |
9 | Willie Mays | 2992 |
10 | Barry Bonds | 2986 |
11 | Dave Winfield | 2973 |
12 | Omar Vizquel | 2968 |
13 | Rusty Staub | 2951 |
14 | Adrian Beltre | 2933 |
15 | Brooks Robinson | 2896 |
16 | Albert Pujols | 2862 |
The infielder should be able to pass Mays for ninth if he matches his 2017-2019 games-played average. If Pujols appears in 140 contests, he would leapfrog Ripken for eighth. That's the highest Pujols could finish, even if he suits up for an entire 162-game campaign.
fWAR
Rank | Player | WAR |
---|---|---|
1 | Babe Ruth | 168.4 |
25 | Cap Anson | 91.2 |
26 | Al Kaline | 88.9 |
27 | Wade Boggs | 88.3 |
28 | Albert Pujols | 87.2 |
Pujols faces a tough challenge while trying to move up here based on what he's done over the last few seasons. The 2016 campaign was the last time the Dominican legend compiled an fWAR higher than 0.8, and he's been a minus player in every year since.
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