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Albert Pujols, 2012
Stats: ..285/.343/.516/.859, 30 HR, 105 RBI, 173 H, 85 R, 50 2B, 138 OPS+, .360 wOBA, 133 wrC+
Awards: MVP (17th)
Baseball Reference WAR: 4.8
FanGraphs WAR: 3.3
Combined WAR: 4.05
Though he hasn’t quite put up the numbers he did with St. Louis, Albert Pujols has still had some pretty good seasons with the Angels. The one that we will be highlighting today is his 2012 campaign.
He finished with pretty solid numbers, a season that would be a career year for a lot of players across the big leagues. He finished 17th in AL MVP voting, which is one of two seasons he’s received MVP votes while with the Angels.
He’s one of 16 players in franchise history to finish a season with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBI. Pujols also hit 50 doubles, the second most in a single season in team history behind Garret Anderson who hit 56 in 2002.
Pujols really heated up during the second half, looking like the Pujols of old. From June 5 through October 1, he slashed .319/.377/.595/.973 with 22 home runs and 75 RBI. He also hit 40 (!!!) doubles during that 97-game stretch. Obviously that’s a near-impossible pace, but that would’ve been a 162 game pace of 67 doubles in a season.
He won Player of the Week honors on August 5 after hitting .424 with five doubles, six home runs, 13 RBI and nine runs scored in a seven-game stretch.
Here’s where his season ranks in Angels franchise history:
- 30 home runs (31st)
- 173 hits (23rd)
- 50 doubles (2nd)
- 105 RBI (23rd)
- 16 intentional walks (5th)
- 138 OPS+ (22nd)