Albert Pujols Is The Shrewdest Man In Baseball

Albert Pujols Is The Shrewdest Man In Baseball

If Albert Pujols knows where he's going, he hasn't let it leak to anyone.

Albert Pujols wanted to avoid all this. If it were up to Albert, he would have signed a new contact with the Cardinals last winter. But if it were up to Albert, that contract would have been the richest contract in the history of baseball -- more than the $275 million that Alex Rodriguez scammed wrenched out of the Yankees. So here we are. A decision from Pujols is imminent. Marlins? Cardinals? Mystery team? But no one -- absolutely no one -- has a shred of credible information about what that decision will be. No leaks, no rumors. Hardly any speculation. Pujols has it all under wraps.

There are two sides to Albert Pujols: the down-to-earth Albert who speaks softly, goes about his business and wins fans and admirers with his generocity. Then there's the proud Pujols, who believes deep down that he is the best hitter in the history of baseball, and wants have that affirmed for him in baseball's language of respect -- money.

For a guy who is not entirely comfortable playing the free agency game, Pujols is really good at it. If Pujols, or anyone close to him, were to leak the slightest indication of where his head is at, or where he might be headed, the news would spread like wildfire. Pujols is handling the media scrutiny with a tightness of control that most politicians could only dream of.

So here we are, with a decision coming imminently, and no one has any idea which direction Pujols is leaning. We do know that he has massive offers from the Marlins, Cardinals and a third mystery team -- rumored to be the Angels -- but no one on the entire internet has enough info to even make a false guess or start an erroneous rumor. Pujols is in complete control.

Is he using the Marlins as leverage? Yes. Is he toying with the Cardinals? Yes. Is he patronizing the mystery team? Absolutely.

He may not have wanted to play the free agency game, but he did. And we found out Albert Pujols is not only the best hitter in baseball, but the shrewdest.

Onliest problem for Albert is that after he finally puts his name on a contract, the scrutiny isn't going to stop. Every at bat will be examined and dissected, and from today until 2021 we are all going to be discussing whether or not he lived up to the massive, burdensome contract that he's going to pry out of these poor saps.