Times are good in St. Louis. The Cubs are bad, worse than they've been in a while in fact, and the Cardinals just had their best August in franchise history. What all of this means for the Cardinals, and their fans, is that October is a given right now. Like death and taxes, the Cardinals playing playoff ball is certain at this point.
Almost as certain their playoff chances are Albert Pujols chances of winning his third career, and second consecutive, MVP award. Most people would have no problem with giving the award to a player who is leading the league in HR, and is top-five in both RBI and average. Not to mention his absurd numbers with the bases loaded.
There are some players, however, who have numbers that rival those of Pujols. Names like Ruth, Aaron, and Williams come to mind immediately. Each of these players is, of course, in the Hall of Fame, and amassed those numbers over illustrious careers. Another name many think of in this context, more so in St. Louis than anywhere, is Stan Musial.
Musial was, and in no small way, still is, known as "The Man" to St. Louis fans. A statue that attests to this fact has been present in front of each of the last two Busch Stadiums. "The Man" is quite possibly one of the top-five hitters of all-time, and yet might not be the greatest hitter in the history of his own team.
The heir to the St. Louis throne is so consistently dominating that he has been dubbed, among other things, "The Machine." The question at this point seems to be not whether he will one day overtake Musial, but rather when that day will come. Maybe, however, it's already happened. To determine this, though, one needs to take an in depth look at the careers of both men.
"The Man," The Legend
Stan Musial was not just a great ballplayer, he was one of the best ever. His numbers alone speak volumes of his talent. A .331 lifetime average on 3630 career hits, 475 HR, 1,951 RBI, and 1,949 runs scored. He not only won the MVP award three times, but also led the Cardinals to three World Series titles in four appearances. Given that this took place on the heels of the incredible success the team enjoyed in the 1920s due to the play of another all-time great, Rogers Hornsby, Musial is remembered by some as the man that changed the Cardinals from a good team to the undeniable kings of the National League.
A model of consistency, Musial appeared in a nearly inconceivable number of All-Star Games, 24 to be exact. But his No. 6 is retired not only because of what he did on the field, but also because of his continued support of the team, including one season as its GM, in which the Cardinals won the World Series. He is not just a great Cardinal, he is the Cardinal against which the greatness of all other Cardinals are measured.
Rise of "The Machine"
Albert Pujols is, without equivocation, the greatest player of his generation, and it's not even close. Part of this enormous gap in talent is due to the fact that Pujols has played among a group of contemporaries that is void of any Hall of Fame-type talent. That's not to say that players like Ken Griffey, Jr. haven't played at the same time as him, but those who have are all well past their prime. Also, to be fair, players like Ryan Howard and Ryan Braun, both of whom are great players, don't qualify as Hall of Fame talent yet. They need more years of consistently high levels of play before that happens.
What separates Pujols from the other players of his generation is not just the numbers (.333 career average on 1,678 hits, 361 HR, 1,088 RBI, and 1,051 R in under nine years), but also how critical he has been to the success of a Cardinals team that has been arguably the best team in the National League during his career. No Cardinals player, and maybe no player on any team, has been at the heart of more big victories over the last nine years than Pujols.
But perhaps the greatest asset that Pujols provides is his aforementioned consistency. He has had at least a .300 average, 30 HR, 100 RBI, and 99 R in each of his nine seasons so far. When compared with any, and I do mean any, Hall of Fame player, Pujols numbers compare very well, and in most cases favorably. This is part of the reason that he is on his way to tying Musial's franchise record of three MVP awards, and is also part of the reason that the Cardinals have won two NL pennants and one World Series title over the last nine years.
The Verdict
So, of the two players, who reigns as king of St. Louis?
That question is unanswerable until Pujols' career is over, but as long as he continues on the same pace he has for nine years, and avoids major injuries, it seems foolish to think that he won't one day supplant Musial as "The Man." But even if he doesn't, there's nothing wrong with the idea of two statues greeting the great fans in St. Louis on summer nights.
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