Pujols is taking care to be on firm footing
Slugger still isn’t 100% after surgery in December
TEMPE, Ariz. — Albert Pujols is 37 and about to begin his third season after an off-season spent recovering from surgery. His life has become an annual cycle of playing through pain, recuperation, and convincing himself he might someday feel great again.
“I feel better,” Pujols said over the weekend at Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the Angels are wrapping up spring training. “I don’t feel 100%.”
Halfway through his 10year contract with the Angels, he underwent December surgery on the plantar fascia in his right foot. He beat the prognosis, began playing in games March 10 and has hit .323 with two home runs in the Cactus League. Asked whether he retained hope of reaching 100% this season, Pujols said it was his goal.
“I’m pretty excited with where I’m at right now, I can tell you,” the Angels desig-