What if, on the heels of a dismal June where he hit .158 and failed to smash a home run in a month for only the second time in his career, Cardinals superstar slugger Albert Pujols had never found his picturesque swing? What if Pujols had grown so frustrated over his lack of production that he had walked away from the game? What if he had not experienced a decisive turning point and informed manager Oliver Marmol, hitting coach Jeff Albert and close friend and hitting guru Alex Cintron, "I think I figured something out" in early July? What if Pujols hadn't persevered through his early struggles and hung around long enough to turn back the clock with a stunning second-half spree that saw him hammer 18 home runs en route to finishing his career with 703? What if he had just walked away? As it was, he almost did. As the Cardinals prepared to host the Phillies in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series today, Pujols revealed in a candid interview with MLB.com that, yes, he came close to not playing out a full season. |
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