Albert Pujols

This is going to be an interesting season for the St. Louis Cardinals and their first baseman Albert Pujols. The team has a lot of money invested in a lot of players, and they have stretched their budget pretty thin as it is. Pujols is poised to hit free agency after this season, and he is going to get paid A LOT of money by someone.

Albert Pujols has given the St. Louis Cardinals a deadline of the end of Spring Training to extend his contract. 

Pujols has said he will definitely veto any trade during the season, so there goes that.

It seems he wants to keep his mind on baseball, not contracts, during the season, hoping to avoid missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The baseball nation is already speculating on what could happen if he leaves during free agency, as countless teams will certainly want the Dominican slugger hitting in their lineup.

If anybody has got it made in the game of baseball today, it's Albert Pujols.  He is currently the hot topic of debate in the newspapers, on websites, on television, and even in conversation.  He's currently entering the final year of his current contra - as if you all didn't already know that - and he's contemplating on taking his unmatched skill elsewhere.

Albert Pujols is the best player in the game of baseball, so it's no surprise he headlines the list of first basemen in 2011.

But, first base is such a deep position that, even in a 12-team league, if you aren't getting strong production from that slot, there's something wrong with you.

I mean, Justin Morneau and Billy Butler barely made the top 10 and Kendry Morales didn't make the cut at all.

Yet, if you can get any of those three guys, you'll be in good shape for your season.

Can you feel that?  Is that the feeling of democracy?  Is that freedom?  No, it’s spring training. As the calendar turns to February and the football season climaxes finally, all eyes turn to Arizona and Florida, anticipating baseball’s long-awaited return.

The ticking of the clock is growing louder and louder in St. Louis and throughout the baseball world. With each tick, everyone is wondering the same question, "Will the Cardinals show Albert Pujols the money?"

News broke on Friday that Cardinals' slugger Albert Pujols will veto any trade proposal involving him.

The upcoming free agent stated earlier this offseason that he will not negotiate during the season, meaning the Cardinals ink him to an extension before he reports to Spring Training, or he will become a free agent after the 2011 season.

Spring training is almost here and as we get closer to the 2011 baseball season kicking off, let's take a look at who the best hitters are.

For the last decade, Albert Pujols has arguably been the league's best and most complete hitter. Although not old by any means and coming off a terrific 2010 season, he is now 31 years old and perhaps he might not be the absolute best anymore.

Is that even possible? Who else would even match up to him? You'd have to take into account producing in all three major categories, such as batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.

In professional baseball, unlike the other major professional sports, twenty years is a benchmark of sorts for a career. 

Sure, a player can go to the Hall of Fame having played 18, 15, or even 10 seasons, but 20 seasons is generally held out as the symbol of full career as a major league baseball player.

First base is a funny position.  

Often, the first baseman is the team's best hitter, but one of its worst fielders.  Many first baseman are both indispensable (to the batting order) and replaceable (in the field).