Albert Pujols embraces elder statesman role at All-Star Game
CINCINNATI — Derek Jeter never wanted the label.
If you visited any of the past few All-Star Games and suggested to the now-retired Yankees star that he was an elder statesmen in the room, you didn’t make it far. Jeter would playfully but firmly cut the line of questioning off. Why did he laugh it off and want no part of it? He never said.
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Albert Pujols is different from Jeter, though. When asked on Monday if he liked hearing the younger All-Stars talk about admiring his play as they grew up, Pujols beamed and said he was relishing his role in the sport’s natural talent cycles. He remembered being a rookie at the 2001 All-Star Game in Seattle and talking the same way about Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken.
“It comes and goes,” the Los Angeles Angels’ star said. “Ten years from now, you’ll see Joc [Pederson], [Kris] Bryant and [Manny] Machado and there’s going to be a new mix coming up and looking at them. It’s always great for the game.”
With Jeter off in retirement and Alex Rodriguez wearing the sport’s scarlet letter, this game’s rocking chair belongs to Pujols. Not that he’s playing anything like an old man. Finally healthy for the first time in years, Pujols is hitting .255/.323/.532 with 26 homers and 56 RBI for the first-place Angels. He’ll start Tuesday night’s game at first base in place of his injured friend, Miguel Cabrera.
Hard as it is to believe, this is Pujols’ first Midsummer Classic since the 2010 game in Anaheim (and his 10th overall). The 35-year-old struggled with injury since heading to the Angels for the mega-contract in the winter of 2012 and only recently started to feel like himself.
Pujols’ health led to the home runs, which led to an All-Star berth that once felt like a given each year.
[On this week’s StewPod: Everything you need to know about the All-Star game.]
Now that he knows different, Pujols is determined not to take these few days in Cincinnati for granted. He signed up for the Home Run Derby and authored one of the contest’s best moments in his semfinal loss to Dodgers star Joc Pederson. He laughed on the Home Run Derby press conference podium when guys like Kris Bryant and Manny Machado mentioned they had watched the man with 546 career home runs as grade schoolers.
“Is it more special this year? Yeah, because for [five] years I wasn’t here,” Pujols said. “Now I’m healthy and to have a chance to be around these superstars, it’s fun. I’m enjoying every moment. I’m trying to do as much activity as I can and talk to as many young players as I can.”
Though Pujols still approaches each at-bat with that focused and almost mean look, he has noticeably relaxed around the clubhouse. While other players and reporters were once afraid to interrupt his famous pregame routine for fear of a prickly response, Pujols is now more open to sharing and talking about what he’s learned over 15 big league seasons.
So, yeah, it’s been kind of cool to see Pujols embrace the role of the resident legend in the middle of baseball’s new talent infusion. It’s something he might be able to play during a few more All-Star Games if his body helps him out.
Pujols laughed at the memory of talking to Houston’s rookie shortstop Carlos Correa before a recent game and having the 20-year-old phenom tell him that his first memory of seeing Pujols play was when he was still playing tee-ball.
“I said, ‘Come on!’ And put my head down,” Pujols said, chuckling. “But it’s special to be here in this role.
“I’m going to enjoy it.”
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Kevin Kaduk is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KevinKaduk
