Why an All-time Fail-er Belongs in the Hall-of-Fame

Earlier this week, I watched Albert Pujols fail – twice.

Major League Baseball at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs. 

First failure: Top of the 4th inning, runner on first base with no one out. Pujols grounds into a double-play. One swing. Two outs. Nothing doing for the Cardinals. 

Second failure: Top of the 9th inning, runner on first with one out. Pujols grounds into a double-play again. Inning over. Another rally-killer. 

But those failures are not the real story. 

The story of the game happens in the top of the 7th inning. Score tied 0-0. No outs. No one on base. Two balls, one strike. And then…

Pujols hits a long drive to left-center field…

…it might be…it could be…

…out o’ here. A homerun. 

1-0 Cardinals. The only run scored in the game. Cards win. 

Without Pujols, the Cardinals might lose the game. 

Few remember the double-plays. Everyone remembers the home run. 

In St. Louis, Missouri, USA, where I live, baseball is a religion. 

Which means Albert Pujols is a saint. 

Pujols is one of baseball’s all-time greats. He spent his first 11 years with the Cardinals before breaking our hearts and signing with the Los Angeles Angels.

Now, after 10 seasons away, 42-year-old Pujols has rejoined the Cardinals for his final season. 

And he’s putting on a show. 

He began the season with 679 home runs – fifth all-time. 

Only three players have hit 700 – Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth. 

Few imagined that Pujols could hit 21 homers this year and reach that sacred 700 plateau. 

Many thought he was washed up. 

Over the last seven seasons, Pujols has averaged 12 homers per season – including only 17 in the last two seasons combined. 

But Pujols may achieve the unimaginable. 

He has 14 homeruns on the season, including seven in August. 

He needs just seven more to reach 700. 

Every time Pujols comes to bat, time stands still. Those in the stadium stand, cheer, and hold their breath. Those watching on TV stop whatever else they were doing, turn it up, and stare at the screen. 

This is a story for the ages. More entertaining than Robert Redford in The Natural or Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams – because this is real.  

Whether he gets to 700 or not, he’ll be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He’ll be remembered as an all-time great, arguably among the 10 best ever. 

And this season will go down in history as one of the great comeback stories in all of sports. 

Oh, and by the way…

…Pujols will also go down in history as the guy who hit more double-plays than anyone. He’s an all-time fail-er. 

Double-plays are the ultimate baseball failure. They suck the life out of a team. They kill rallies. They frustrate fans. 

And Pujols has hit into 423 of them – 73 more (!) than Miguel Cabrera who is #2 on the list. 

But 423 double-play-failures is not the real story. 

There’s a stat in baseball called “Wins Above Replacement.” (WAR) It estimates the number of wins a player adds to his team’s total vs. the typical player would replace him. 

For his first 11 seasons in St. Louis, Pujols average (WAR) was 8. That means, in those seasons, the Cardinals won 8 more games than they would have without him. 

That’s a huge impact from one player. 

You may fail in a few at-bats. But the real question: Did you win the game? 

With Pujols in the lineup, the Cardinals won two championships. 

So never mind the double-plays. 

Baseball is a game that combines lots of failure with some success. 

Even the best batters fail to get a hit 70% of the time. 

And even the best hitters ground into double-plays. 

Same goes in business. 

If you play the game, you’ll succeed, and you’ll fail. You’ll win some. You’ll lose some. 

If you want to win the game, you have to suit up. You have to get on the field. You have to go to the plate. And you have to take your swings. 

You may ground into a double-play – TWICE. But along with those double-plays, you may hit a game-winning homer. 

You’ll remember the homer.