Pujols, Cabrera test Father Time

Two legendary sluggers aim to stay in the swing of things

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols, minding his own business at first base, was startled when someone rolled a baseball from the opposing dugout in between innings, clanking off his foot.

Pujols, with a scowl on his face, spun around and saw the culprit hiding his face, running away hoping to avoid detection.

Yep, who else but fun-loving Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Pujols, who rarely cracks a smile once he walks onto the field from the Angels clubhouse, couldn’t help but laugh. His mind immediately started racing, thinking back to the days they first met when they were teenagers, arriving together in South Florida for the first time as professional players.

My God, Pujols thought to himself, has it really been 18 years?

Pujols, the 402nd player chosen in the June 1999 draft, was in Jupiter, Fla., as a 19-year-old in the St. Louis Cardinals instructional league camp. Miguel Cabrera, a 16-year-old who had signed for $1.8 million, the largest bonus ever given to an international player, was in the Florida Marlins camp.

Cabrera remembers shyly walking over, introducing himself and being in awe of Pujols’ power. Pujols remembers being in utter disbelief that a hitter could look so mature at such a young age.

Pujols is 37, Cabrera 34. Combined, they are slated to amass $750 million in career earnings, a fair bounty for 21 combined All-Star appearances, five MVP awards, five batting titles, 13 Silver Slugger awards, 5,404 hits, 3,411 RBI, 1,046 home runs and three World Series titles.

Together, they are nearing — or already immersed in — the game’s ultimate challenge: Fending off the effects of age while maintaining an elite level of performance.

Their bodies might betray them more often now, but that doesn’t mean their generational hitting skills no longer merit appreciation.

Even if these best of friends still can’t agree on who’s the better hitter.

“He’s the best, the best I’ve ever seen,” Cabrera tells USA TODAY Sports. “There’s no one like Albert. I’ve watched him my whole life. Everyone wants to be like him. He’s unbelievable.”

Counters Pujols: “Don’t let him trick you. Miguel Cabrera is the greatest right-handed hitter in the game. No one has been able to do what he can do. That guy is just unreal.”

In an era of instant gratification, when first impressions often trump a body of work, we forget we’re watching two of the greatest right-handed hitters in baseball history.

If they retired tomorrow, they’d be in the Hall of Fame in five years. Their names would forever be mentioned in the same breath as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Rogers Hornsby, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx and Frank Robinson.

“I think the game right now is not only witnessing two of the greatest hitters of our generation but two of the greatest right-handed hitters who have ever lived,” says likely Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who hit 612 homers.

“The message to baseball fans should be to embrace these iconic guys, because when they’re done playing, you may never see anything like that again in your life. They’re putting up numbers that will stand the test of time.”

Pujols, the slugger largely forgotten since leaving St. Louis after the 2011 season, is again on the brink of entering America’s consciousness.

Pujols, who hit at least 30 homers in all but two of his previous 16 seasons, is four homers shy of becoming the ninth player to hit 600 home runs and, besides Mays, the only right-handed hitter not stained by steroids on that list.

With the possible exception of Cabrera, we might not see another 600-home run hitter for at least a decade.

“I can’t even imagine 600 homers,” says Cabrera, a four-time batting champion, 2012 Triple Crown winner and the first right-handed hitter to win three consecutive batting titles since Hornsby 90 years ago. “That’s just incredible to me. And he’s not just a home run hitter, either. You look at his hits, his RBI, who has done that?”

Cabrera and Pujols, forever linked by their concurrent greatness, also will share the burden of fighting off age and decline while earning handsome paychecks based on past brilliance.

Cabrera, who signed an eight-year, $248 million extension in 2014, is under contract through 2023. Pujols’ deal, with $140 million remaining, expires after the 2021 season. Yet if either of them thinks he’s no longer producing the way he wants or the game stops being fun, each vows to simply walk away.

“The game will let you know when it’s time to retire,” Pujols says softly. “When you stop producing and you feel like you can’t compete with these young players anymore, it’s time to hang it up. When that time comes, I’ll just say, ‘Bye-bye.’ ”

“Yeah, I know we’re getting old, but getting old is good if you can still play at this level,” Cabrera says. “That’s what makes great players, seeing them do this for 20, 25 years. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing.” It’s not too late to take notice.