AL Central
Kansas City Royals
The MACHINE. Albert Pujols, someone who has provided some of the best excitement if you grew up a baseball fan in the late 90s/early 2000s, is a leading candidate for the Los Angeles Angels managerial search after they let go of Ron Washington. Reports are coming out that Albert is a leading candidate for Arte Moreno’s Angels.
Albert Pujols Career as an Angels Player
Albert Pujols’ arrival in Anaheim marked one of the most anticipated free-agent signings in Los Angeles Angels history. On December 8, 2011, the three-time MVP inked a landmark 10-year, $254 million contract with the Angels, turning down extensions from his beloved St. Louis Cardinals in pursuit of a fresh chapter on the West Coast. Also not reported was the fact that the Cincinnati Reds were on the 90 yard line when it came to inking Pujols. The move was seen as a coup for the Halos, pairing Pujols’ prodigious power with the speed of Mike Trout and a lineup primed for contention. However, his 2012 debut season started rocky, with a dismal .217 average and zero home runs in April, prompting the firing of hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. Pujols rebounded fiercely, slashing .285/.343/.516 with 30 homers and 105 RBIs over 153 games, helping the Angels to a 89-win campaign, though they fell short of the playoffs.
Pujols’ Angels era was not without frustrations, as age, injuries, and unmet expectations tempered the fairy tale. A plantar fasciitis injury sidelined him for the final 1.5 months of 2013, limiting him to 99 games and a .258 average, while elbow surgery in 2018 and persistent foot issues hampered his later productivity. Off-field drama reared its head too, with unfounded PED accusations from ex-player Jack Clark in 2013, which Pujols vehemently denied and litigated, leading to Clark’s retraction and apology. By 2021, at age 41, his bat slowed to a .198 clip in 24 games, prompting the Angels to designate him for assignment on May 6—four months shy of contract’s end. Clearing waivers, Pujols departed as a free agent, leaving behind a .256 batting average across 1,181 games and a complex legacy: a decade of quiet grind for a superstar who chased immortality but couldn’t quite lift the franchise to glory.
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Pujols Managing Experience
He has none. That’s the story. He has absolutely no experience managing anywhere up the seams in professional baseball stateside. He has only expressed interest, similarly to Barry Larkin, but has not said if he’d have a preferred team to manage. 7 months ago, The Machine mentioned he wanted to manage within the next 1 or 2 years. Considering his Angels legacy isn’t much of one, Halo fans likely would welcome him managing the team. They haven’t had much to cheer for of late.
For as much as we can knock on his lack of experience, in 2025, he did lead a Dominican Winter League team to the championship game, and was recently notched the Dominican Republic’s manager for the WBC coming up.
