Yahoo Finance Albert Pujols' wife backtracks after writing about his upcoming 'last season' in baseball
Albert Pujols' wife appeared to announce Pujols' pending retirement Monday before taking a step back.
Deidre Pujols posted an ode to Albert's career on Instagram that suggested he won't play beyond the 2021 season.
"Today is the first day of the last season (based on his contract) of one of the most remarkable careers in sports!" Deidre wrote.
After the post led to speculation that he was retiring, Deidre added a note that "THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF PUJOLS RETIREMENT."
Will 2021 be Pujols' last season?
If this upcoming season is indeed Pujols' last, it would make a lot of sense. He's approaching the final year of the historic, backloaded 10-year, $240 million deal he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2011. He's guaranteed $30 million in 2021. He's guaranteed nothing in 2022.
And at 41 years old, his play has declined substantially from the MVP level that will almost certainly land him in the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
Pujols signed with the Angels in 2011 after winning three MVPs and two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals. One of the game's top sluggers, Pujols faced an outside chance of passing Barry Bonds as baseball's home run king when he signed with the Angels. But after eclipsing 40 home runs six times with the Cardinals, he's reached that tally just once in nine seasons with the Angels.
He'll start the 2021 season with 662 home runs, good for fifth place and 100 behind Bond's all-time tally of 762. With a fortune in the bank, his baseball legacy secure and the home run title out of reach, Pujols very well could decide to call it a career after this season.
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