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Agree? Disagree?
The Cardinal Nation's 15th annual review of the top news items affecting the #STLCards over the prior 12 months. Albert Pujols leads the way for 2022. (free) https://t.co/XcDcUiJlXm pic.twitter.com/jnLVXOhkzE
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) January 1, 2023
Yep Albert coming back was bigger to me than making the playoffs or anything else for that matter. Heck we could have finished in last place and I still would have considered it a great year for just that. Actually getting to see him hit a homer at a game his last season was a highlight of me and my sons life.
In my view, The Great Albert Pujols was the biggest story not only for the Cardinals, but for the entire Big Leagues in ’22. Fans packed venues all across the entire country to see the great slugger rip the baseball while wearing the uniform he’s identified with and he didn’t disappoint. He was something else altogether.
If Albert had come back and stunk all year like he did most of the time in Anaheim, especially toward the end, it would be a different story. A year of talking heads spinning the coming home angle, mostly. So the real story is that he put up numbers that he literally had not put up in the ten years that he was gone. OPS and OPS+ both exceeded anything he did in that whole time. That is why the national media and audience were engaged and that is why it is the #1 story.
Well, of course that would have been the case. However, that’s not what happened. Instead, he featured a performance that fortified his legendary status and illustrated why he’s one of the greatest sluggers of all time. In my view, the performance he featured outpaced the national media hype, which is extremely rare. And in the end, with or without the national media attention, the audience was fully engaged and mezmerized because Albert Pujols gave them no choice.
To me the numbers he put up were just the icing on the cake. Wouldn’t have mattered. I can see why some feel a certain way about it. But pujols was like a connecting point for me and my son, so that’s where I’m coming from. To this day, I still wish the Cardinals had given him what he wanted before he signed with angels. He had earned that already. Though I guess we might not of had the great ending.
A great way to remain humble is to audit one's past predictions. Looking back at what I thought a year ago would become the top five #STLCards stories of 2022 include three misses – Steven Matz, rookies Gorman/Liberatore and the SS position. (free article) https://t.co/QAVSKeQn8s pic.twitter.com/m1eybPUzST
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) January 3, 2023
It is time for my annual predictions for the top story lines that may grab the headlines for the #stlcards during this New Year – the rotation, Contreras, Walker/the OF, Waino, new coaches… (free) https://t.co/EOAgBEiCD8 pic.twitter.com/o9qExl8DLQ
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) January 6, 2023
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