Drop whatever you’re doing, folks Here is some absolutely essential context for the people that bemoan the back half of Albert Pujols’s career (his albatross of a contract with the Angels, being a mere shell of his former self in Anaheim, “compiling” his way into the record books, and so on). Seriously, listen up: Pujols played for 22 seasons in. The first half of that was his epic first stint with the Cardinals, unquestionably one of the greatest 11-year runs the game has ever seen. The back half was the Angels contract, a handful of games with the Dodgers, and a return to St. Louis as a platoon player in his mid-40s. With that in mind, let’s completely ignore those dominant first 11 years; let’s just take the second half of his career and double everything. Let’s just pretend he had the Angels half of his career –– injuries, surgeries, missed games, decline, and all –– twice over without the benefit of the 11 years that earned him the nickname “The Machine.” Do you know where this exercise puts him? • 516 HR • 1778 RBI • 2622 hits That’s back-half Pujols x 2. Only ten other players in MLB history have met or exceeded all three of those numbers, and they all sound like they just fell off of Baseball Rushmore: • Barry Bonds • Hank Aaron • Babe Ruth • Alex Rodriguez • Willie Mays • Ken Griffey Jr. • Frank Robinson • Rafael Palmeiro • Jimmie Foxx • Ted Williams Those are the only careers as good as second-half Pujols doubled. Now, instead of doubling second-half Pujols, throw in first-half Pujols. Mind-blowing greatness. tl;dr — that “subpar” second half would have still put him in the top dozen or so hitters of all time even if he had played his entire career at that level.

The louder that any given politician yells about cutting government waste, the more corrupt they are. Good rule of thumb.

What an article about the #STLCards from @JeffPassan. We’re the laughing stock of baseball😭