Albert Pujols is now an Angel with a heavenly salary of $250 million over 10 years. At age 31, he is considered by many to be baseball’s best player.
A statistical analysis shows Pujols was worth 89.1 more wins than a generic first baseman during his first 11 seasons with St. Louis – the 7th highest Wins Against Replacement (WAR) total in baseball history for players through age 31. Take a look at how he stacks up against other baseball legends in the WAR Department:
Ty Cobb 112.5 Mickey Mantle 101.1 Rogers Hornsby 100.9 Babe Ruth 96.8 Hank Aaron 90.2 Alex Rodriguez 89.7 ALBERT PUJOLS 89.1 Lou Gehrig 86.9 Willie Mays 86.9 Mel Ott 86.8 But if history is our guide, El Hombre won't be nearly as productive over the next 10 years.Take a look at how the same baseball greats fared after age 32, measured in Wins Above Replacement:Babe Ruth 75.2 Willie Mays 67.8 Hank Aaron 51.4 Ty Cobb 46.9 Lou Gehrig 31.5 Rogers Hornsby 26.9 Mel Ott 22.5 Mickey Mantle 19.1 Alex Rodriguez 15.2 ALBERT PUJOLS ???? In other words, King Albert may give the Angels a great return on investment for another 5 years, but by age 37 his body will start to break down and he'll become a very expensive Designated Hitter (good thing for Albert he's in the American League). Some players defy the aging process, like Hank Aaron, who hit 47 homers (his highest total in any year) at the age of 37. Hank Aaron Stats But how many times can Albert Pujols lead the Angels to the promised land? With the addition of pitcher C.J. Wilson, the Angels seem like a lock to win the A.L. West, but there are no guarantees for post-season success - just ask the 2011 Phillies about that - even though most baseball experts had already crowned them as world champs before the season began. My point is the Angels may have paid too much for too many years of Albert Pujols. He could easily give them 6 or 7 good years - but not 10. But if Pujols can help the Angels win two or three World Series - and capture some of the Dodgers fan base, owner Arte Moreno may feel the 10 year deal was worth it. Here's a look at baseball's highest paid players in 2011: This table refers to the salary for 2011 alone, not the overall average value of the contract. Salaries listed are according to the USA Today salary database.[15
Vernon Wells was the highest paid player not on the Yankees in 2011, and second-highest overall.
| Name | Position | Team(s) | Salary | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguez | 3B | New York Yankees | $32,000,000 | [16] |
| Wells, VernonVernon Wells | OF | Los Angeles Angels | $26,187,500 | [17] |
| Sabathia, CCCC Sabathia | SP | New York Yankees | $24,285,714 | [18] |
| Teixeira, MarkMark Teixeira | 1B | New York Yankees | $23,125,000 | [19] |
| Mauer, JoeJoe Mauer | C | Minnesota Twins | $23,000,000 | [20] |
| Santana, JohanJohan Santana | SP | New York Mets | $21,644,707 | [21] |
| Helton, ToddTodd Helton | 1B | Colorado Rockies | $20,275,000 | [22] |
| Cabrera, MiguelMiguel Cabrera | 1B | Detroit Tigers | $20,000,000 | [23] |
| Halladay, RoyRoy Halladay | SP | Philadelphia Phillies | $20,000,000,000 | [24] |
| Howard, RyanRyan Howard | 1B | Philadelphia Phillies | $20,000,000 | [25] |
| Beltran, CarlosCarlos Beltran | RF | San Francisco Giants | $19,325,436 | [26] |
| Lee, CarlosCarlos Lee | LF | Houston Astros | $19,000,000 | [27] |
| Soriano, AlfonsoAlfonso Soriano | LF | Chicago Cubs | $19,000,000 | [28] |
| Zambrano, CarlosCarlos Zambrano | SP | Chicago Cubs | $18,875,000 | [29] |
| Hunter, ToriiTorii Hunter | CF | Los Angeles Angels | $18,500,000 | [30] |
| Zito, BarryBarry Zito | SP | San Francisco Giants | $18,500,000 | [31] |
| Bay, JasonJason Bay | OF | New York Mets | $18,125,000 | [32] |
| Suzuki, IchiroIchiro Suzuki | RF | Seattle Mariners | $18,000,000 | [33] |
| Beckett, JoshJosh Beckett | SP | Boston Red Sox | $17,000,000 | [34] |
| Burnett, A.J.A.J. Burnett | SP | New York Yankees | $16,500,000 |
