Los Angeles Angels: Albert Pujols’ mindset is expanding his skillset

The man has over 3200 hits in his career. He has smacked 663 home runs during his stay in the big leagues. This is his 21st Major League season and he is 41 years old. If the opportunity presents itself, Albert Pujols is going to steal third base, to give the Los Angeles Angels a better chance at scoring.

Even in the early St. Louis Cardinal days of his career, Pujols was never fleet of foot. His career high in stolen bases is 16, accomplished twice, and coincidentally both came in MVP seasons. Pujols doesn’t run often, and isn’t really expected to. Even in the new aged, metric-driven baseball, the stolen base has gone by the wayside. However, if the opponent is going to give you an extra ninety feet, why not take it?

When it comes to stealing bases, Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols has become selective when he swipes.

Trailing 6-2 in the bottom on the seventh inning, Pujols inched off second base as Texas Rangers pitcher Kyle Cody peered in for the sign. Pujols was aggressive on the base paths shuffling towards third base well before the ball was delivered to the plate. He took third without a throw, stealing the base off the pitcher, without giving the catcher a chance to throw him out.

Jose Iglesias followed suit, taking second base behind Pujols, and the Angels put two runners in scoring position. A base hit followed, scoring Pujols, who probably doesn’t score from second on the hit and later Iglesias was able to scoot in from third on a wild pitch. If Pujols is on third base for the wild pitch he probably doesn’t advance. Two runs generated from the opportunistic base running of Pujols.

Going back to 2015, Pujols has successfully stolen 13 bases in a row. In the big scheme of things this may not seem like a lot. Broken down to one game at a time, this could be the difference between a win and a loss.

The batting average has slipped in recent years. The power has gone by the wayside as well. However, Pujols is still finding ways to be productive on the baseball field.