Player of the decade?

[Moose Milligan]

Pujols? Bonds? Ichiro? Manny? A-Rod?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/tom_verducci/09/15/decade.team/index.html?eref=sihpT1

Verducci at the end of the article says it's Pujols, I have to agree. If you want a posterboy for the roids era that the aught's will be remembered for, maybe Bonds, A-Rod or Manny.

Awhile ago I started this thread which was an interesting discussion: http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67267

[lint06]

Albert, without a doubt.

[srock]

I good Pujols as well. But I wonder if ARod takes it if he:

1) Never left shortstop

2) Didn't get busted for 'roids

[JamesI]

Had ARod stayed a shortstop (and ignoring steroids for this) it would probably be him.

[Migrant Redbird]

This article was from before this season began, but it might give some impetus to the discussion. Albert Pujols’ claim to a Triple Crown, or two

Hornsby won two Triple Crowns as a Cardinal, in 1922 (.401-42-152) and in 1925 (.403-39-143). He is the only National Leaguer to win two Triple Crowns, and the league hasn’t seen a Triple Crown since Joe “Ducky” Medwick did it with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937. As I poked around for info on Horsnby beyond the encyclopedia page on the floor, I found references to his “decade Triple Crown.” He’s believed to be the only player to have led a league in batting average, home runs and RBIs over the span of an entire decade. He did it in the 1920s:

• Batting Average: .382
  
• Home Runs: 250
  
• RBIs: 1,153
  

On the way to mining those statistics, I learned that Hornsby finished in the top three in batting average every year in the 1920s save 1926. (He won six consecutive batting titles in the 20s and seven total in the decade.) Hornsby, the Hall of Famer, finished in the top seven in homers every year in the Roarin’ Decade, and he ranked in the top 10 in RBIs every year but 1923. It was a remarkable run of consistent and dynamic performance and it produced something unique — the “decade” Triple Crown.

Of course, it depends as well on where you start the decade. Traditionally, centuries and decades begin with the year one, which would make 2001 the first year of the "ought" decade.

... Starting on April 2, 2001, and counting forward to the end of this most recent season, here are the standings in the Triple Crown statistics for the National League (all stats include only those while playing for a NL club):

BATTING AVERAGE

1. Albert Pujols … .334
2. Todd Helton … .326
   
   
3. Chipper Jones … .317
   
   
4. Lance Berkman … .303
   
   
5. Juan Pierre … .300
   
   

HOME RUNS

1. Albert Pujols … 319
2. Adam Dunn … 278
   
   
3. Barry Bonds … 268
   
   
4. Lance Berkman … 263
   
   
5. Andruw Jones … 255
   
   

RBIs

1. Albert Pujols … 977
2. Lance Berkman … 879
   
   
3. Aramis Ramirez … 815
   
   
4. Andruw Jones … 770
   
   
5. Todd Helton … 748
   
   

Others have more RBIs in their careers and certainly more home runs, but since he made his major-league debut Pujols leads the National League in all three Triple Crown categories.

However, if you factor in the American League....

... Since his debut at Coors Field, Pujols does rank well in the overall numbers — almost Aaron-like.... Pujols ranks second to Alex Rodriguez in both RBIs (1,011 to 977) and home runs (364 to 319). Pujols, however, has quite a lead when it comes to batting average since his debut.

... Up to date statistics on Pujols: 1066 runs, 366 home runs, 1104 RBIs, and a .333 batting average. Albert leads the NL in both home runs and RBIs at the moment, but still trails Hanley Ramirez by 24 points for the batting title.

[srock]

This article was from before this season began, but it might give some impetus to the discussion. Albert Pujols’ claim to a Triple Crown, or two

Of course, it depends as well on where you start the decade. Traditionally, centuries and decades begin with the year one, which would make 2001 the first year of the "ought" decade.

However, if you factor in the American League....

... Up to date statistics on Pujols: 1066 runs, 366 home runs, 1104 RBIs, and a .333 batting average. Albert leads the NL in both home runs and RBIs at the moment, but still trails Hanley Ramirez by 24 points for the batting title.

All very interesting. But I'm not sure a decade Triple Crown can be confined to one league. To many players move between both league's so a guy like Abreu, Pedro, RJ, or Helton would be left behind.