re: How close was Albert Pujols to becoming the GOAT

quote:

---

Dude has been very serviceable as he has aged. He is not at his peak but he has still been very productive

---

Yep. His real problem is that he wanted to get crazy money despite having plantar fasciitis and seriously slowing down as a result. Which meant he had to go to the AL to DH. And he got stuck in Anaheim for his troubles. He now plays for a team no one cares about or watches because they're on the west coast and that can't get its shite together in a city that could take or leave any sports franchise, let alone one that claims Anaheim when the LA Dodgers are just down the road.

Imagine if he played for the Red Sox or the Yankees instead. He wouldn't have Trout, but for years he'd have had Papi and the platoon in Boston. And he'd be on a team that's even more popular than his previous perennial powerhouse team, the Cardinals. He's no longer in the public consciousness because he's in a city where the best player in baseball is hiding in plain sight. It's like Anaheim has a damn Invisibility Cloak wrapped around it. That Trout isn't on every kid's lunch box is bonkers.