Major League Baseball Outfielder Comparisons: Albert Pujols Vs. Roberto Clemente

It may be not that difficult to note that Albert Pujols and Roberto Clemente are from two different Caribbean islands, and undeniably the impact that they have made on Major League Baseball will be remembered for many years to come. The Dominican Republic is where Albert Pujols was born, and at an early age he found that baseball was his calling, and the native son of Puerto Rico is where Roberto Clemente would become an American hero, and he will always be remembered as the ambassador of Major League Baseball to all the people of Puerto Rico.

The majority of baseball purists know that Roberto Clemente played his entire career as a third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that he was an exhilarating force to reckoned with because of his outstanding and elusive base sliding skills. On the other hand, Albert Pujols is two generations removed from an era of when baseball was a much different game than it is now. There is no mirror image that could compare these two baseball players, as a matter of fact, their batting styles, size comparrison, and on field position skill level is a quite interesting on who is the better all-around Latin-American baseball player.

Albert Pujols Major League debut began with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, and Roberto Clemente debut began in 1955 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Albert Pujols has played as a First Baseman, Left fielder and Third Baseman, and during his 9 year career his At Bats is 5146, and he has 1717 Hits, in addition to having hit 366 Home Runs. Before the modernization of pro baseball, Roberto Clemente At Bats total was 9454, and hit 240 Home Runs, in addition to his 3000 Hits which place him 27^th on the all-time hit list.

Roberto Clemente was also a dominant force when it came to his out fielding abilities. Roberto Clemente won 12 Gold Gloves in his 18 year career. The controversy on who is the greatest Latin-American Pro Baseball Player will come into question as Albert Pujols record of 1 Gold Glove does not taint his dominance in the ranks of MLB baseball today. There are many other attributes that set Albert Pujols apart from Roberto Clemente; according to his 9 year stats, if he keeps on his torrid pace of hitting home runs and what he means to his team, there is a likely hood of him gaining another MVP for 2010, he already has won 3 MVP awards - in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and in 2208 he won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his dominant and versatile playmaking skills.

Roberto Clemente untimely death in December 31^st, 1972 stunned the baseball community, the most ironic thing about this tragic incident, is that he died at sea traveling to his homeland Puerto Rico.

Roberto Clemente was inducted into the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973 by the committee under a special election process.

Albert Pujols led the league with a .650 slugging average for 3 years, the late great Roberto Clemente slugging average was .475, never once did he win the slugging title in his 18 year major league career. If by chance that Albert Pujols can stay healthy - and maybe play for nine more seasons, he will have the opportunity to shatter all of Roberto Clemente records, in addition to becoming the new Latin ambassador of Major League Baseball. Only time will tell where Albert Pujols may rate among the greats concerning MLB records. The 2010 MLB season may prove to be an exciting one for this Latin super star, and it may be a year where the spirit of Roberto Clemente shines on this National League favorite to possibly win his second Gold Glove title.

Statistical Resources: www.probaseballreference.com