MLB Franchise Four – Biggest Snubs for Each Team
St. Louis Cardinals – Albert Pujols
Franchise Four: Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial
Speaking of decorated franchises; how about the St. Louis Cardinals? 11 World Series championships and 47 Hall of Famers are a pretty good indicator that an organization has done very well for itself over the years. As such, they undoubtedly had a ton of high-quality players of which to choose from for their Franchise Four.
Given the aforementioned propensity for some baseball fans to limit their vision of the game to the last 20 years or so, it was refreshing to see the St. Louis Cardinals’ fans make a concerted effort to recognize the history of their franchise. Unfortunately, that meant that someone was going to get left out.
I’m just shocked that it was Albert Pujols.
For 11 years, Albert Pujols was the face of the franchise in St. Louis, taking over the club when Mark McGwire retired. In those 11 seasons, he placed second on the franchise list in home runs (445), RBI (1,329), and wRC+ (167), and ranks third in WAR with a career 81.4 mark. In 1705 games, he hit .328/.420/.617 with the Cardinals, winning three MVP awards and was runner-up in four other seasons.
Maybe his omission was due to the fans still holding a grudge over him leaving the team four years ago. Or maybe it was just a case of too much of a good thing. Regardless, Pujols deserved a spot.
Next: Cubs - Sammy Sosa