Is This the Most Dominant Performance to Start an MLB Career Ever?

I'm celebrating Christmas by talking about my Roman Empire: the start of Albert Pujols' career.

Legendary slugger Albert Pujols will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer once he becomes eligible.

Finishing fourth on MLB’s all-time home run list with 703 dingers is the only stat we need to reference to back up that statement. But The Machine did so much more during his 22-year career to make it an easy decision for baseball writers when the time comes.

Even if he rode off into the sunset after winning the 2011 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, he’d still be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. That’s how incredible the start of his career was.

It’s something I think about often (hence, why it’s my “Roman Empire”). And in case you don’t think about it a lot, I want to bring it to the forefront of your mind.

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The Beginning of Pujols’ Career, By The Numbers

Pujols’ cumulative numbers from 2001-10 are insane. He appeared in 1,558 games during this span, hitting .331/.426/.624 with 408 home runs, 426 doubles, 1,230 RBI and 1,186 runs scored. All that led to an 81.4 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.

His lowest single-season batting average was .312, while his OPS finished below 1.000 just twice (.955 in 2002 and .997 in 2007). Pujols produced 10 straight years of 30-plus homers and at least 100 RBI. This also included six seasons of 40-plus taters to litter himself all over St. Louis’ single-season home run leaderboard.

An *average* season during this span included 41 homers, 43 doubles, 123 RBI and 119 runs scored.

The Beginning of Pujols’ Career, By The Accolades

As you can imagine, Pujols racked up plenty of personal accolades along the way thanks to these yearly elite performances. Here’s what he did during that time:

• 2001 NL Rookie of the Year

• Three-time NL MVP

• One Batting Title

• 10 straight years of top-10 NL MVP finishes

• Nine All-Star Game selections

• Six Silver Slugger Awards

• Two Gold Glove Awards

• Led the league in homers twice

• Led the league in RBI once

• Led the league in runs scored five times

• Led the league in bWAR six times

Oh, and he helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 2006. Not a bad way to start your big-league career.

Why It Could Be the Most Dominant Start to a Career Ever

Since I think about this often, I’ve been trying to find a way to put the first 10 years of Pujols’ career into the proper perspective. Like any other baseball fan who grew up in the ‘90s, my first thought was to compare it to Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey was in a similar boat once the Seattle Mariners traded him to the Cincinnati Reds following the 1999 season. If The Kid walked away from the game at that point, he would’ve likely still been a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Between 1989 and 1998, Griffey slashed .300/.379/.568 while averaging 35 homers, 29 doubles, 102 RBI and 94 runs scored. His cumulative bWAR during this time was 65.8. So, that kinda proves my point, but this will drive it home.

According to Baseball Almanac, there have been just four players who have racked up at least 10 seasons of a .300 average with 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBI. You’ve heard of them all, too:

• Babe Ruth (12 times): 1920-21, 1923-24, 1926-33

• Lou Gehrig (10): 1927, 1929-37

• Albert Pujols (10): 2001-10

• Manny Ramirez (10): 1995-96, 1999-04, 2006, 2008

There are two big differentiators between Pujols and the rest of this group. Despite not hitting this triple milestone the most, he’s the only one to do it all in consecutive seasons *and* at the start of his career.

Is Pujols’ decade-long dominance the best start to a big-league career ever (or, at least in the modern era)? I’m sure I’m missing some dominant starts, so if any come to mind, send them over. Either way, make sure you dedicate some time during Christmas dinner to discuss this with family members. After all, it’s very important.