Albert Pujols Leads St. Louis Cardinals to Top of Division

Midway through his ninth season in Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols is having possibly his best season yet. This is after already having seasons in which he won the Rookie of the Year and two MVP titles. However, Pujols came into 2009 after having surgery during the offseason to clean up bone spurs in his elbow that had plagued him for several years, even though his numbers would say otherwise.

Now as the calendar turns over to July, Pujols has the Cardinals leading the NL Central by one game over the Milwaukee Brewers with a record of 44-38. Both teams currently sit in front of the Chicago Cubs, the team many picked to win the division. While the rest of the Cardinals' lineup has struggled for much of the season, Pujols has racked up 31 homeruns and 82 RBI, according to MLB.com. Already, Pujols has to hit only six homers in order to match his total from 2008, a year where he won the NL MVP award.

What makes Pujols such a force in the lineup is that he puts up most of his numbers in clutch situations. Nearing the All-Star break, with the bases loaded Pujols is 6-7 with four grand slams this season. However, being clutch is not something Pujols just started this season. With his last grand slam on July 3, Pujols hit his tenth career grand slam, passing Stan Musial for the most career grand slams by a Cardinal.

The baseball season is just passing the halfway mark in 2009, which makes Pujols' numbers staggering. With his 31 homers and 82 RBI, Pujols is on pace to hit 62 HR and drive in 164 runs. This would be the first time a player not linked to steroids would hit 60+ homeruns since Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Had this season come before the steroid era, people across the country would be going crazy over what Pujols is doing. Now, however, people have seen 60+ homeruns and in the end it came out that the hitters were on the juice. That will not be the case with Pujols and Major League Baseball may be seeing the best hitter in the history of the game play in his prime.

So, as the second half of the 09 season gets under way, keep an eye on Albert Pujols as he shoots for the record books while at the same time keeping his team on top of the NL Central and play in October for the first time since winning the World Series in 2006. This is a remarkable year in the midst of a remarkable career for baseball's best hitter.

"Player Locator Results." MLB.com.

"Regular Season Standings." MLB.com