Future HOFers lost valuable at-bats
For the game’s oldest players, the short season in 2020 will undoubtedly impact the history books.
A 40-year-old Albert Pujols hit just six homers. He only needed four to pass Willie Mays (660) for fifth all-time, but with 662 career home runs, he remains a long-shot to catch Alex Rodriguez (696) for fourth. Barry Bonds (762), the late Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) are holding steady in the top three.
Pujols is one of the more interesting players in baseball in 2021. He’s 41 years old and entering the last year of the 10year deal he signed with the Angels. He’s told reporters this spring he’s uncertain if it’ll be his final season or if he’ll consider hitting the free agent market one last time next winter. Would he return to the St. Louis Cardinals for a farewell tour unlike any seen before?
“That’s like the million-dollar question,” Pujols told the USA Today this spring. “Everybody asks me that. Hey, I don’t know what’s going to happen. This is the last year of my contract, and I feel like I can play. I feel good. My body feels great. Mentally, I feel like I can continue to play. But I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”
Only six players have ever reached 500 homers and 3,000 hits, and Pujols is one of them. Aaron, Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro and Eddie Murray are the others.
Miguel Cabrera could join them this year.
Cabrera, who turns 38 in April, has been on a steady and sharp decline since the start of the 2017 season. He hit just .250 with a .746 OPS and 10 homers last year, mostly as the Tigers’ DH. He still has three years remaining on his deal and will make $94 million in that span.
He’s at 487 career home runs and 2,866 hits. If he matches his 139 hits from 2019, he’ll hit 3,000 this year. But he hasn’t hit more than 12 homers in a season since 2017.
Both Pujols’ and Cabrera’s contracts represent a reminder that lifetime contracts rarely work out for the teams. Neither the Angels (who also have Mike Trout and his $426 million deal) nor the Tigers have won a World Series with future Hall of Famers soaking up large portions of their payroll over the last decade.
MIGUEL CABRERA
Neither the Phillies nor the Yankees have reached the World Series since adding Bryce Harper ($330 million) and Giancarlo Stanton ($325 million; originally signed with the Marlins) on their massive contracts. The Yankees also have Gerritt Cole ($324 million) burning a hole in their pockets.
The Rockies moved on from Nolan Arenado ($260 million) and his massive contractual obligation, which will be taken over by the St. Louis Cardinals.
That brings all the attention to the Dodgers and Padres, who should battle it out in the NL this year.
The Dodgers are coming off a World Series title in the final year of Mookie Betts’ arbitration eligibility before he was due to hit free agency. But they locked him up on a $365 million deal that will pay him through his age-39 season, a commitment the Red Sox never felt comfortable making.
The Padres, meanwhile, have Manny Machado and his $300 million contract as well as budding star Fernando Tatis Jr., who signed a $340 million extension this offseason to keep him in San Diego through his age-35 season.