Tag: Albert Pujols

If this is the end of Albert Pujols’ career, 1 number proves he’s an elite, all-time talent

Wow.

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The Los Angeles Angels released Albert Pujols on Thursday, and although that wasn’t a huge surprise, it was still a bummer.

The Angels have a full-time DH and MVP candidate in Shohei Ohtani who needs to play all the time. Jared Walsh and his 22 RBI can play first base. And despite hitting five dingers this year, Pujols was batting just .198 and had an OPS of .622.

Given that this is a release and not a retirement announcement, it seems obvious that the all-time great still wants to play at age 41, and maybe some team who needs a designated hitter who can occasionally hit lefties will pick him up.

But let’s say no one wants to sign him and he retires. Just how good was his career?

I knew Pujols totaled 667 homes, fifth all time and that his RBI totals (2,112) were third behind Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. But for stacking him up against other talents through the generations, we go to Wins Above Replacement.

Did you know that Pujols has a 99.4 WAR, which is 32nd all time? Better than Cal Ripken Jr., Jimmie Foxx, George Brett, and Chipper Jones. Among first basemen (I know he played some outfield and third base), that’s second behind Lou Gehrig.

And what’s nuts is he totaled a 101.4 WAR from his debut in 2001 through 2016. Since then, he’s actually lost a couple of points in his decline with a -2.0 WAR from 2017 to 2021.

The point? We’re not just talking about an instant first-ballot Hall of Famer. This might be “Hey, he should be in consideration for an all-time 25-man roster” good. Did you realize he was that good? I can safely say no, I didn’t.

And I really hope we get to see him play again, maybe in a bit of a farewell tour. But if this is the end, what a career.

Quick hits: Floyd Mayweather vs. Jake Paul … NHL hypocrisy … what a play by Gleyber Torres … and more.

— Jake Paul snatched a hat off Floyd Mayweather’s head ahead of Logan Paul’s exhibition fight with the boxer.

— Our Mary Clarke wrote about how the NHL’s hypocrisy on player safety has never been more apparent after the Capitals-Rangers mess and its aftermath.

— You have to see this awesome heads-up play by Gleyber Torres to score from first on a ball that didn’t leave the infield.

— Here are four playoff sleepers and four teams who could drop out of the postseason in 2021.

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MLB world reacts to the Angels releasing future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols’ time with the Angels is over.

Albert Pujols’ days with the Los Angeles Angels are coming to an end today as the team will reportedly be releasing the legendary power hitter who is the final year of his 10-year, $253M deal with the club.

Pujols has 667 career home runs and 2,112 RBIs but at 41 years of age he has slowed down quite a bit, is hitting just .198 this season and is far removed from his dominant days.

It appears that the future first-ballot Hall of Famer would like to keep playing, since he’s being released and maybe there is a team out there that would want to bring him in as a DH. We’ll have to see how that plays out.

Mark Feinsand, meanwhile, was first with the news:

UPDATE: The Angels have made it official:

Here are his current career numbers:

And here are his averages with the Angels:

https://twitter.com/DannyVietti/status/1390366497139089409

Twitter had reactions:

 

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Chasing 700: Albert Pujols could extend career to join exclusive home run club

What I’m Hearing: Bob Nightengale had a 90-minute sit down with Albert Pujols and discussed his ultimate legacy to the game of baseball. One goal in particular of Pujols could lead him to extend his career beyond this season.

What I’m Hearing: Bob Nightengale had a 90-minute sit down with Albert Pujols and discussed his ultimate legacy to the game of baseball. One goal in particular of Pujols could lead him to extend his career beyond this season.

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Friday’s Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics sports betting odds and lines, with MLB betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Oakland Athletics visit the Los Angeles Angels Friday at Ring Central Coliseum for a 10:10 p.m. ET first pitch. We analyze the Angels-Athletics MLB betting odds and picks, with betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Angels at Athletics: Projected starting pitchers

LHP Andrew Heaney vs. RHP Frankie Montas

Heaney in 2019: 4-6, 4.91 ERA in 18 starts.

  • 2019 vs. Athletics: 0-1, 4.76 ERA (6 ER, 11 1/3 IP) in two starts.
  • Career vs. Athletics:  2-2, 3.99 ERA (17 ER, 38 1/3 IP) in six starts.

Montas in 2019: 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA over 16 starts.

  • 2019 vs. Angels: 2-0, 3.27 ERA (8 ER, 22 IP) in four starts.
  • Career vs. Angels: 2-0, 2.96 ERA (9 ER, 27 1/3 IP) in four starts and seven appearances.

Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!

Angels at Athletics: Key injuries

Visit sportsdata.usatoday.com to track all MLB injuries leading up to game time.

Angels

  • SP Julio Tehran (waiting for COVID-19 test results) out
  • 3B Anthony Rendon (oblique) out
  • RP Justin Anderson (elbow) out

Athletics

  • SP Jesus Luzardo (tested positive for COVID-19) out
  • SP A.J. Puk (shoulder) out

Angels at Athletics: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 3 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Athletics 7, Angels 3

Moneyline (ML)

These two pitchers met in the final regular-season game of 2019 and it was a pitchers’ duel of sorts.

Heany went for 5 1/3 innings with one earned run and Montas threw six innings with one earned run in a 3-2 Angels’ victory; however, Heaney is 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA in his last seven starts versus the Athletics while Montas is 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his last seven against the Angels.

Oakland owned Los Angeles last season (13-6) and the A’s are 7-1 in the last eight meetings between the two. The vig on the favorite (-152) is a fair price and I don’t see why the Athletics cannot continue their dominance of the Angels. Oakland is a sharp sleeper pick to go deep in the playoffs.

TAKE the ATHLETICS (-152) to beat the Angels. New to sports betting? A $152 bet on the Athletics earns a profit of $100 if Oakland wins.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

It seems like every other year the Athletics are one of the surprise teams in MLB. Sports betting markets didn’t take the Athletics as seriously as they should have, hence Oakland’s third-best run line record in the majors (91-72).

As you read above, Montas has had bankable success against the Angels and when you mix in the Athletics’ above-average bullpen—seventh in ERA, fifth in batting average and fifth in WHIP—we LIKE the ATHLETICS -1.5 (+125) on the run line.

New to sports betting? A $50 bet on the Athletics earns a profit of $62.50 if Oakland wins by two or more runs.

Over/Under (O/U)

Oakland and Los Angeles were ranked similarly in every major hitting category last season. And though there are a lot of big names in both lineups, the Athletics played to the third-most Unders in the majors and the Angels had a 79-76-7 Over/Under record in 2019.

Of course, CF Mike Trout could do damage but the absence of expensive free-agent signee Rendon makes the Angels’ lineup a little easier to handle.

All that being said, the lineups’ firepower in this matchup compels me to AVOID betting the projected total of 8.5.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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2020 MLB Futures Odds: How many games will the Los Angeles Angels win?

Looking at 2020 MLB futures odds for how many games the Los Angeles Angels will win in the 60-game MLB season.

How many games will the Los Angeles Angels win in the 60-game 2020 MLB season? We look at the Angels‘ MLB futures odds, including their projected 2020 win total and Over/Under odds at BetMGM, and make our best bet.

Los Angeles Angels’ 2019 recap

The 2019 Los Angeles Angels finished 72-90 in a one-and-done managerial season for Brad Ausmus. He was replaced by three-time Manager of the Year, Joe Maddon. Los Angeles had an 80-82 run line record and a 79-76-7 Over/Under record.

The Angels were never in first place in the American League West as the Houston Astros steamrolled the division, however, they did flirt with earning a wild-card berth as late as July 24 before struggling down the stretch.

Los Angeles Angels’ offseason

The Angels had two huge offseason signings with the aforementioned Maddon as manager and All-Star 3B Anthony Rendon‘s seven-year, $245 million deal.

Also, they brought in C Jason Castro and added starting pitchers Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran to the rotation. They lost a little production in the lineup when RF Kole Calhoun, who hit 33 home runs with 74 RBI in 2019, signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Also see:

Los Angeles Angels’ 2020 schedule

Los Angeles’ opening day is Friday, July 24 when they visit the Oakland Athletics and their final game is Sunday, Sept. 24 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this COVID-reduced 2020 season, the Angels will have a 60-game all-West regional schedule, which includes 40 games against AL West opponents and 20 against the National League West.

Aside from the West division powerhouses—Dodgers and Houston Astros—the Angels have a winnable schedule especially considering how much talent is on their roster.

Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB futures bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!

How many games will the Los Angeles Angels win in 2020?

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, July 7 at noon ET.

If any baseball manager has the ability to navigate an awkward 2020 season, it’s Maddon. His success speaks volumes and once again Los Angeles has one of the best teams on paper. The lineup is stacked with CF Mike Trout,  future Hall of Famer 1B Albert Pujols, third-year phenom DH/SP Shohei Ohtani and Rendon.

But that’s how it always works for the Angels. Preseason hype and regular-season disappointment. Bundy and Teheran aren’t big enough additions to improve their terrible rotation. Trout seems iffy about playing at all this season, and if he doesn’t, the Angels lose the generation’s best player and reigning AL MVP. Los Angeles has gone Under their season win total for back-to-back seasons and four of the last five years.

I am BETTING UNDER 32.5 (-120) WINS FOR THE ANGELS. 

Los Angeles Angels’ World Series odds

No.

I mean it’s not impossible but, with their rotation, it’s next to impossible. Los Angeles at +4000 to win the World Series is TOO CHEAP TO BET.

Los Angeles Angels’ playoff odds

I don’t hate the Angels’ value (+650) to win the division but I am PASSING on LOS ANGELES WINNING THE AL WEST. The quick case for good value: Maddon has his mojo working, Trout plays, Rendon produces to his contract, Pujols gets hot, OF Justin Upton returns to All-Star form, Ohtani stays healthy and improves on his rookie season.

Want action on any 2020 MLB futures? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Angels owner should be humiliated by report that Albert Pujols is paying team’s Dominican staffers

This should be absolutely humiliating for Arte Moreno, the billionaire team owner of the Angels.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Albert Pujols, the Angels’ first baseman, is singlehandedly paying all the team’s employees in the Dominican Republic while they are on furlough due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pujols will pay $180,000 out of pocket to the staffers to cover five months of lost wages, according to the report.

In the Times story and the ESPN story about this, they made sure to note how much money Albert Pujols has earned in his career. Neither of the stories, however, mentioned the net worth of the Angels’ owner, Arte Moreno.

I think this is relevant information to this story.

Albert Pujols is playing out a $240 million contract, but there are taxes and such, and his net worth was most recently estimated to sit at $170 million by The Richest. Arte Moreno is worth $3.3 billion, according to Forbes.

For most of us, those are both just huge numbers. But a quick bit of napkin math tell you: Pujols’ net worth is basically 5% of Moreno’s. Pujols is one of the most well paid athletes in baseball history and Moreno has 95% more net worth than he does.

And Pujols is the one picking up the tab for people that … Moreno employs.

Forget shaming owners, or trying to appeal to their empathy or morality. It’s really hard to make a billion dollars if you truly care about other people. This should just be embarrassing for Moreno as a rich guy. He’s letting one of his employees pick up the tab.

Moreno, the head honcho, the guy running the show, is letting one of his workers bail him out because he’s too cheap to do it himself.

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Watch: MLB stars Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger crush golf balls

Mike Trout is crushes a drive at Topgolf and it’s a viral video sensation.

Wanna see Mike Trout launch a golf ball to the moon?

What about Dodgers rising star Cody Bellinger?

The two Major League Baseball stars were among several players swinging for the fences at a Scottsdale, Arizona, Topgolf facility on Sunday.

They were all there for an event sponsored by The Pujols Family Foundation, a non-profit run by Angels’ slugger Albert Pujols and his wife which, according to their site, “focuses on Faith, Family and Others.”

Trout, a five-tool player on the diamond, proves that he can crank a driver as well. His reaction to the moonshot is pretty solid, too: A little flex followed by a huge ear-to-ear smile.

Bellinger also showed off his swing.

The lefty has a nice, slow takeaway and then lets it rip.

Trout and the Angels hold spring training in Tempe, while Bellinger and the Dodgers share a facility in Glendale with the White Sox.

With three more weeks of spring training, there’s a better than good chance Trout will be somewhere in Arizona sending golf balls, and baseballs, off into the distance.

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