Well well, I think George Bush Jr. is doing an amazing job under the circumstances, even with the anit-Bush media, I idolize him, now let me here it from you people!!!!!!!!!!!!
<< <i>Well well, I think George Bush Jr. is doing an amazing job under the circumstances, even with the anit-Bush media, I idolize him, now let me here it from you people!!!!!!!!!!!! >>
<< <i>Well well, I think George Bush Jr. is doing an amazing job under the circumstances, even with the anit-Bush media, I idolize him, now let me here it from you people!!!!!!!!!!!! >>
You idolize a person, yet you don't really know his real name? LOL what a joke.
you are hearing pujols is great and may be the greatest of all time....................please
bonds has won 7 mvp awards........714 hr's and counting..........and he's not the greatest
another 10 years of doing what he is doing then maybe he is having a great career. the same talk was going on about A-Rod a few years back and now everyone expects him to do it.
for every bonds or a-rod..........how many don mattingly, ron kittles, darryl strawberry,eric davis, jose canseco's were considered great while having a few good years. time and injuries will tell which category pujols will end up in.
First of all, we all know that Bonds is tainted...proof or not. Pujols was 2nd place for two of Bonds 7 TAINTED MVPs...by the numbers, Pujols was MUCH more deserving. Before his 26th birthday, Pujols had over 200 HRs. Bonds is nothing but a piece of tainted dog turd. Bonds could have been a great player without the steroids but his numbers are inflated because of them. And how great of an accomplishment is that for Pujols? At age 26, Bonds had 117 HRs(and that is giving him even half a season after turning 26). ARod, 189 at the end of the season that he turned 25..if you want to go probably halfway through the season that he turned 26, he had 205 HRs. And not just HRs...but Bonds career average before this season is .300, ARod .302, and Pujols at .332!!! Neither Bonds or ARod had that kind of average their first 4 seasons. As for Kittle, Strawberry, Davis, Canseco, et al...no one ever said they had the potential to be the greatest...just great...and they had just that, the potential. Anyone who says that Pujols doesnt have the potential to be the greatest hitter our era has ever seen is just blind. Don't worry, given Pujols being healthy, he will have PLENTY of MVP awards. Only the best is yet to come from Mr Pujols. And I PRAY that Pujols crushes the single season HR record this year. I would hate to see a bum like Bonds own it. Will Bonds pull a Tanya Harding and go after Pujols with shot to his knee?
nobody ever said bonds numbers were not tainted , and i don't disagree with what pujols has done so far,what i am saying is to be considered great it will take a 15 years career of numbers to be considered great in my opinion. he has potential to do it
as far as mattingly,canseco ect ect at one time or another the word great was talked about because we saw rookie card prices hit the 100 and above range (and this was before grading and ebay).
bonds will always have a place in baseball no matter how many homers pujols or a-rod or anyone else hits.Baseball is stuck with him and they deserve each other. i hope he breaks aaron's mark.
<< <i>nobody ever said bonds numbers were not tainted , and i don't disagree with what pujols has done so far,what i am saying is to be considered great it will take a 15 years career of numbers to be considered great in my opinion. he has potential to do it
as far as mattingly,canseco ect ect at one time or another the word great was talked about because we saw rookie card prices hit the 100 and above range (and this was before grading and ebay).
bonds will always have a place in baseball no matter how many homers pujols or a-rod or anyone else hits.Baseball is stuck with him and they deserve each other. i hope he breaks aaron's mark. >>
Absolutely Bonds will have a place in baseball forever. But to most people(including myself), it will not be a good mark in baseball history. And not only for the steroids, but the kind of class he lacks when it comes to the fans of baseball. Some would say what does he owe them? He owes them EVERYTHING because fans are the ones who make up his paycheck. I feel there will be a dark cloud over baseball if he breaks Aaron's HR record. In fact, it will be a down right shame. Just because baseball allowed all of these terrible things to happen doesn't make it right that Bonds or any other player did it. And if Bonds does surpass Aaron, I hope he isnt able to enjoy it for long.
<< <i>And if Bonds does surpass Aaron, I hope he isnt able to enjoy it for long. >>
how is he not going to enjoy it. nobody is close to him and it will take quite a few years for anyone to pass it.
baseball can take the record but it will not change it. the * by roger maris didn't mean he didn't hit 61 homers it meant a bunch of old SOB's did like the way it was done. if bonds breaks aarons record you can put a * or s for steroids but the facts are he still hit 756. Bud Selig doesn't want bonds to break it because he thinks it will hurt baseball,i think the only one worse for baseball than bonds is selig.
MRI today was inconclusive??? Pujols said he can be out 2-6 weeks, thats pretty much all that is being said about his injury, I would think inconclusive would meen no damage but who knows...
You know what I think is funny? 50 homeruns is really no big deal anymore, if Pujols hit 50 (before injury ofcourse) we all would be a bit dissapointed he didnt make at least 60.
<< <i>Does Mihlfeld’s name sound familiar? If it doesn’t, he — and we assure you, this gives us no pleasure to write this — has been Albert Pujols’ personal trainer since before Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 draft. We have no confirmation that Pujols’ name is in the affidavit … but Mihlfeld’s is. If you read the document, it doesn’t say the trainer/Mihlfeld supplied all the HGH and what-not; it just says the trainer was the referrer.
Yeah. Sigh. We just report what we’re told, folks. Ever hope your source is wrong? This is one of those times. >>
So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
I wouldn't read anything into this until more information comes out. Mihlfeld was also a trainer for the Royals (hired by the team, not an individual). Does this make the entire Royal's team a bunch of juicers? Although God knows they can sure use it these days.
I hope there's zero behind the speculation but I wouldn't be surprised. If it is indeed Pujols' personal trainer, Albert is going to have some serious explaining to do.
Just because he's a nice guy doesn't make him immune... If he indeed took performance enhancers, regardless of his nice guy persona, he deserves to be punished just like all of the other cheaters.
So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
Just because he's a nice guy doesn't make him immune... If he indeed took performance enhancers, regardless of his nice guy personal, he deserves to be punished just like all of the other cheaters.
Let's not get carried away with this ... although guilt by association has always been a factor in every facet of life.
I could be mistaken, but didn't a couple of players, Pujols included, ask to be tested simply to disassociate themselves from the "pack"? If this was the case, I believe the players union icksnayed that right away. All it will take is one player to step up and have a third party administer a test, and MLB will be on the right track.
A local trainer linked by internet reports to the federal investigation of pitcher Jason Grimsley denied on Friday his involvement in any illegal activity. Chris Mihlfeld, who is also the personal trainer for baseball stars Albert Pujols and Mike Sweeney and once worked for the Royals, told The Star that he is not named in Grimsley's now infamous affidavit.
"I just don't want my name to be part of this," he said. "It's not fair to me. It's not fair to my family. It's not fair to the other players I work with. It's not fair to the kids I work with."
A report late Thursday, on the blog deadspin.com, attempted to answer the most popular question in baseball: who are the blacked out, redacted names listed in Grimsley's affidavit? In the 20-page document, there are numerous names hidden from public view. The baseball rumor mills have spent the last week filling them in.
When Grimsley mentioned a former trainer, Mihlfeld's name quickly surfaced. Mihlfeld helped Grimsley, a former Royal, recover from Tommy John surgery faster than expected, a feat that has now attracted suspicion.
"They've got the wrong name on that deal," Mihlfeld said.
The trainer said both Grimsley and Grimsley's attorney told him he was not in the document. Edward Novak, a Phoenix criminal defense lawyer representing the pitcher, didn't immediately return a voice mail and an e-mail seeking comment.
"He was in baseball 18 years before I got to meet him," Mihlfeld said. "If you think in the last three or four years, that I'm the one getting him to do this, it's just ignorance."
Any connection between Mihlfeld and Grimsley would also, for the first time, provide a connection between performance enhancers and Pujols, who has been followed by allegations. Mihlfeld insisted that the St. Louis slugger is clean.
"I can guarantee you that one, too," he says. "I've known Albert since he was 18 years old. Albert won't even drink his protein shakes anymore during the season because he's scared they're contaminated. That's been part of his training for the last five or six years, and all of a sudden he won't even do that. He's tired of it. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of people putting this kid down. He's a great kid. Let him be great. He's clean."
Mihlfeld said he has spoken to both Grimsley and Pujols since this scandal broke. He described Pujols, who went to high school in the Kansas City area, as frustrated.
"You know why he's frustrated?" he said. "Because he cares. He cares what every little kid thinks about him. He cares if some kid picks up a magazine, and they start talking about steroids. He cares that little kids will always link that to him. He's sick about it. He hates it."
<< <i>I wouldn't read anything into this until more information comes out. Mihlfeld was also a trainer for the Royals (hired by the team, not an individual). Does this make the entire Royal's team a bunch of juicers? Although God knows they can sure use it these days. >>
Now there's a thought.
Instead of bickering over salary caps and teams that make tons of money but don't pay the players...
...just allow the bottom 25% of each league every year to dose up on PEDs the next year.
Imagine the fun in predicting how many lbs. these guys can put on by the next spring, and which one will stroke out on the field!
MLB had better find a way to get past the blood test issue or this problem will not end.
Look for some bigger names to come out before the start of the '07 season. MLB will finally get tough. It's the only thing they can do in the wake of their own negligence.
I wouldn't read anything into this until more information comes out. Mihlfeld was also a trainer for the Royals (hired by the team, not an individual). Does this make the entire Royal's team a bunch of juicers?
How many Royal's are built like a friggin brick wall ala Pujols ?
That pujols/hgh story was fiction (the websites opinion) created by deadspin website to get some free press....
pujols has been great since he was a teenager (1997 Hit a HR that landed on top of a 25 foot air conditioning unit 450 feet from home plate, at the age of 17 ), he is 1 in a zillion, a true natural, its not often a non cheater can be still considered great among a sea of cheaters...
Pujols is clean, there is such a difference in body shape between pujols and bonds.....bonds is all upper body, chest and arms bulging with veins and muscles, no lower body strength (thus knee injuries)....Pujols has huge thighs and torso, no cuts or bulging muscles in his arms or chest, pujols has always been heafty, a strict health diet and exercise freak has made pujols body, not HGH or roids....
this assumed association of Pujols Trainer and Grimsley in Deadspin's "reporting" is slanderous in my opinion, i hope pujols lawyer sees that website....
<< <i>That pujols/hgh story was fiction (the websites opinion) created by deadspin website to get some free press....
pujols has been great since he was a teenager (1997 Hit a HR that landed on top of a 25 foot air conditioning unit 450 feet from home plate, at the age of 17 ), he is 1 in a zillion, a true natural, its not often a non cheater can be still considered great among a sea of cheaters...
Pujols is clean, there is such a difference in body shape between pujols and bonds.....bonds is all upper body, chest and arms bulging with veins and muscles, no lower body strength (thus knee injuries)....Pujols has huge thighs and torso, no cuts or bulging muscles in his arms or chest, pujols has always been heafty, a strict health diet and exercise freak has made pujols body, not HGH or roids....
this assumed association of Pujols Trainer and Grimsley in Deadspin's "reporting" is slanderous in my opinion, i hope pujols lawyer sees that website.... >>
You can hope that he's clean but you don't know for a fact if he is or isn't... Period.
Just because he's a nice guy don't mean squat; Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa can attest to that
So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
Pujols' guru gets his support By Joe Strauss ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 06/15/2006
PUJOLS
"I have nothing to worry about."
PLEASANT VALLEY, MO.
The wall inside the entrance to Millhouse AEP is covered with framed autographed photos of major league first basemen Albert Pujols and Mike Sweeney. The player wearing Cardinals red is connected to the area by his upbringing; the other, wearing Kansas City Royals blue, by his current team.
Until last Tuesday the wall also featured pictures of veteran pitcher Jason Grimsley.
The men's lives intersect here at the suburban Kansas City facility run by personal trainer and former coach Chris Mihlfeld. Pujols, Sweeney and Grimsley rarely worked out together, opting for individual sessions. But they came to befriend each other and respect their "guru" Mihlfeld, a local athletic legend who served as strength and conditioning coach for several major league teams, most recently the Royals.
Last week an unpleasant glare followed them all - most harshly Mihlfeld - because of a shadow Grimsley created by his admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs. That's when Grimsley's pictures came down.
"Jason's a friend," Mihlfeld says. "But that's not what I stand for. And the people who come here, that's not what they stand for."
When federal investigators in Phoenix released an affidavit June 6 detailing Grimsley's ties to human growth hormone, steroids and amphetamines, an Internet web site and MSNBC television cited an anonymous source to list Mihlfeld as one of the blacked-out names.
The affidavit quoted Grimsley as fingering "a former employee of the (obliterated team's name) and several Major League Baseball players, once referred him to an amphetamine source."
Grimsley quickly asked for and was granted his release by the Arizona Diamondbacks and on Tuesday received a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.
"Mike doesn't deserve any of this. Albert doesn't deserve this. I don't deserve this," Mihlfeld said while waiting to start a program at Millhouse.
Pujols addressed the matter Wednesday night.
"It's not about me. It's not about Mike Sweeney. I don't resent this as much for myself as I do for Chris," Pujols said. "He's got no way to defend himself against somebody who puts something out there that's not true.
"I've said before I have nothing to worry about. If they want to test me and Mike, then let's go. I'll do it tomorrow. No problem. But Chris has been put in a really unfair position. I know it bothers him. I hear it every time I talk to him."
Pujols said he would pay any legal fees should Mihlfeld seek redress for being linked to the growing scandal.
"This isn't right," Pujols said. "All Chris wanted was his place and a chance to help kids and help us. He doesn't even want us to pay him."
Pujols addressed his training habits last month, angrily dismissing suggestions he ever had used any artificial help.
(To be safe, Mihlfeld said Pujols recently stopped drinking protein shakes that include Creotine.) Pujols also defended San Francisco outfielder Barry Bonds by reminding that the embattled slugger never has tested positive since the commissioner's office implemented its steroid policy in 2003.
The matter has become an irritant to Pujols, who still leads the major leagues in home runs and RBIs almost two weeks after landing on the disabled list because of a strained muscle in his right side.
"Why would I do something like that to my family? Why would I do something like that to God? Why would I do something like that to my team?" Pujols asked. "Just to try to gain some small extra? It's part of what I believe: What you do in the dark will come into the light. I have nothing to fear. I'm just tired of hearing about it."
Pujols said he has spoken to Mihlfeld numerous times since the trainer's name was linked to the affidavit.
"I don't have too many friends, but Chris is one of my best friends," Pujols said. "To see and hear him go through this bothers me a lot. I just hope when everything comes out they remember what's been done to this guy."
Sweeney began training with Mihlfeld when the trainer joined the Royals' staff in 2003. Last week Sweeney wasted little time confirming his friendship with Grimsley while maintaining he knows the reports about Mihlfeld to be erroneous.
"The only common denominator Albert, Jason and I have is that we train with Chris," Sweeney said. "Unfortunately, a number of people want to point a finger at that common denominator and infer guilt. I know the names of the people on the affidavit. Even before I knew, I would have bet my life savings that none of us three would be on it."
A muscular man who prefers his head shaved, Mihlfeld has spoken to them all while experiencing the G-forces caused by a rocket ride from relative obscurity to an alleged facilitator. A resident of nearby Liberty, Mo., Mihlfeld plans to move his wife and three small girls into a new home soon. Meanwhile, recent reports have complicated his current situation.
Mihlfeld said he has received numerous threatening e-mails since the Internet report appeared. A pick-up truck full of hecklers rolled by his current address last week to shout insults. Mihlfeld's children were outside at the time.
"I know none of it's true but that doesn't make it any less difficult on my wife and children," he said. "That's really the hard part."
Mihlfeld worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays before spending 2003-04 with the Royals. Grimsley pitched in middle relief for the Royals from 2001-04.
The affidavit's description fits Mihlfeld neatly, except he says Grimsley and Grimsley's lawyer insist his name appears nowhere in the document.
Grimsley's story broke shortly after Sports Illustrated and Sporting News published profiles about Pujols that in part detailed his strong relationship with Mihlfeld. Last winter Pujols spent weeks working out two to five hours daily at Millhouse with his instructor. The "intense" sessions shifted from cardiovascular work to hitting to weightlifting, sometimes with a lunch break in between.
Performance-enhancing drugs are taboo to Mihlfeld, according to Sweeney. The first baseman said Mihlfeld once threatened to end their relationship if Sweeney accepted a colleague's advice to use a form of steroid to accelerate his recovery from a back injury.
"That's not his way and it's not our way," Sweeney said. "If you have a polygraph or a blood test, any of us - myself, Albert, Chris - we'd be glad to take them because we have nothing to hide."
Mihlfeld had strong words, too, about banned supplements.
"It's a short cut. It's cheating," Mihlfeld said. "I know it's received a lot of attention in the game recently. But Mike and Albert don't take short cuts. These guys are pure. They're Christian men who live their ethic."
As for Grimsley, a popular player with teammates, Mihlfeld said, "He made a bad mistake and he's paying for that mistake. He understands that."
Leased by Mihlfeld, Millhouse AEP opened to the public last January. It's in a corporate-industrial park about 20 minutes northeast of downtown Kansas City. Mihlfeld declines to discuss his financial arrangement with Pujols, but notes his business would not have become reality without the Cardinal first baseman's assistance.
Pujols purchased much of the equipment found within the warehouse-sized operation. Pitching machines, several hitting cages and free weights each have their place.
The business' initials sometimes are mistaken for Pujols' but instead stand for Athletic Enhanced Performance.
Mihlfeld and Pujols' relationship goes far beyond athlete and personal trainer. Pujols speaks of Mihlfeld as "like a brother." Mihlfeld, 37, sometimes speaks of providing a parental influence and often refers to El Hombre as "a great kid."
Pujols and his wife, Deidre, had yet to marry when she introduced him to Mihlfeld in 1998 during Pujols' senior year at Fort Osage High School. Pujols did not yet speak fluent English and Deidre did most of the talking, recalls Mihlfeld, then baseball coach at nearby Maple Woods Junior College. Mihlfeld eventually recruited Pujols to attend Maple Woods but accepted a job with the Dodgers as assistant strength and conditioning coach before Pujols' first junior college game.
The last week's tremors have unsettled a community that remembers Mihlfeld, who first became famous as a sophomore for throwing the final out of Winnetonka High's 1985 state baseball championship.
"When Chris commits to doing something, it's total," says Hank Reese, Mihlfeld's assistant wrestling coach at Winnetonka. "You'd better not be faint of heart if you train with Chris. He'll grind you. Chris is also not one to compromise his values."
Adds Reese: "I saw the reports and read the papers. That was the thing that popped into my head. I can't fathom Mike Sweeney would do anything like this. I can't fathom Albert would, either."
Mihlfeld compiled a .500 record as a sophomore before winning the state wrestling title in the 155-pound weight class as a junior. He then won the 167-pound class as a senior before attending Central Missouri State to play third base and continue his wrestling career. At CMSU, Mihlfeld twice became a Division II national wrestling champion and an All-America third baseman.
"Chris was a hard worker who did more than what was asked," says former Winnetonka wrestling and baseball coach Don Giannola. "He really worked hard to get better. What you see in Albert is the way Chris was. You can see how Chris has influenced Albert that way."
Added Giannola: "I really don't understand who started this. I know what they're saying - (Mihlfeld) is connected with Grimsley, so Pujols must be the same way. That's ridiculous. That's like saying since once politician is corrupt, they all are. They're just trying to find any speck of dirt on anybody and exploit in the papers and television."
Comments
<< <i>Well well, I think George Bush Jr. is doing an amazing job under the circumstances, even with the anit-Bush media, I idolize him, now let me here it from you people!!!!!!!!!!!! >>
Bush Jr.?
Definite Mt. Rushmore candidate.
<< <i>Well well, I think George Bush Jr. is doing an amazing job under the circumstances, even with the anit-Bush media, I idolize him, now let me here it from you people!!!!!!!!!!!! >>
You idolize a person, yet you don't really know his real name? LOL what a joke.
BTW, it's not Bush Jr...it's George Walker Bush.
bonds has won 7 mvp awards........714 hr's and counting..........and he's not the greatest
another 10 years of doing what he is doing then maybe he is having a great career. the same talk was going on about A-Rod a few years back and now everyone expects him to do it.
for every bonds or a-rod..........how many don mattingly, ron kittles, darryl strawberry,eric davis, jose canseco's were considered great while having a few good years. time and injuries will tell which category pujols will end up in.
And how great of an accomplishment is that for Pujols? At age 26, Bonds had 117 HRs(and that is giving him even half a season after turning 26). ARod, 189 at the end of the season that he turned 25..if you want to go probably halfway through the season that he turned 26, he had 205 HRs.
And not just HRs...but Bonds career average before this season is .300, ARod .302, and Pujols at .332!!! Neither Bonds or ARod had that kind of average their first 4 seasons.
As for Kittle, Strawberry, Davis, Canseco, et al...no one ever said they had the potential to be the greatest...just great...and they had just that, the potential.
Anyone who says that Pujols doesnt have the potential to be the greatest hitter our era has ever seen is just blind.
Don't worry, given Pujols being healthy, he will have PLENTY of MVP awards. Only the best is yet to come from Mr Pujols.
And I PRAY that Pujols crushes the single season HR record this year. I would hate to see a bum like Bonds own it. Will Bonds pull a Tanya Harding and go after Pujols with shot to his knee?
as far as mattingly,canseco ect ect at one time or another the word great was talked about because we saw rookie card prices hit the 100 and above range (and this was before grading and ebay).
bonds will always have a place in baseball no matter how many homers pujols or a-rod or anyone else hits.Baseball is stuck with him and they deserve each other. i hope he breaks aaron's mark.
<< <i>nobody ever said bonds numbers were not tainted , and i don't disagree with what pujols has done so far,what i am saying is to be considered great it will take a 15 years career of numbers to be considered great in my opinion. he has potential to do it
as far as mattingly,canseco ect ect at one time or another the word great was talked about because we saw rookie card prices hit the 100 and above range (and this was before grading and ebay).
bonds will always have a place in baseball no matter how many homers pujols or a-rod or anyone else hits.Baseball is stuck with him and they deserve each other. i hope he breaks aaron's mark. >>
Absolutely Bonds will have a place in baseball forever. But to most people(including myself), it will not be a good mark in baseball history. And not only for the steroids, but the kind of class he lacks when it comes to the fans of baseball. Some would say what does he owe them? He owes them EVERYTHING because fans are the ones who make up his paycheck.
I feel there will be a dark cloud over baseball if he breaks Aaron's HR record. In fact, it will be a down right shame.
Just because baseball allowed all of these terrible things to happen doesn't make it right that Bonds or any other player did it.
And if Bonds does surpass Aaron, I hope he isnt able to enjoy it for long.
<< <i>And if Bonds does surpass Aaron, I hope he isnt able to enjoy it for long. >>
how is he not going to enjoy it. nobody is close to him and it will take quite a few years for anyone to pass it.
baseball can take the record but it will not change it. the * by roger maris didn't mean he didn't hit 61 homers it meant a bunch of old SOB's did like the way it was done. if bonds breaks aarons record you can put a * or s for steroids but the facts are he still hit 756. Bud Selig doesn't want bonds to break it because he thinks it will hurt baseball,i think the only one worse for baseball than bonds is selig.
I never said I or people should idolize baseball players or what have you.
I said BASEBALL needed a hero and Pujols seems to be the guy this time.
hardcore, you are right you do not need to explain anything.
Just try and make some sense when you post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK?
Steve
-First NL rookie to hit at least .300 with 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored
-First major leaguer to make 30 starts at four different positions in a single season (1B, 3B, LF, RF)
-Fastest player to 20 HR's in a season
-Tied with Pete Rose for most consecutive seasons leading the MLB in runs scored (3).
-Most HR's in the month of April (14)
-Most hits in an NLCS (14)
-Most total bases in an NLCS (28)
-Most RBI's by an NL rookie (130)
-Most TB be an NL rookie (353)
-Most Extra base hits by an NL rookie (88)
-Most HR's in a single postseason by a Cardinal (6)
-Most runs scored by a Cardianls rookie (110)
-Tied with Ralph Kiner for most HR's in first three seasons (114)
-Played 1B, 3B, SS, LF, RF, and DH, in one season (2002)
-Only player to hit 30+ HR's in all of his first 5 seasons
-Only player to hit .300 with 100 runs, 100 RBI, and 30 home runs in each of his first two, three, four, and five, seasons
-Fastest player to reach BOTH 1,000 career hits and 200 home runs
-Only player to win the Silver Slugger Award for three different positions (1B, 3B, OF)
-Three time NL Player of the Month
-Five time Man of the Year from the St. Louis chapter of BBWAA
-Has played in the Junior College, Minor League, and Major League, World Series'
-Arizona Fall League Hall of Famer
-Arizona Fall League Team of the Decade member
-All Busch Stadium Cardinals 1B
-Cardinals rookie records for home runs, doubles, RBIs, extra-base hits, runs and total bases
-Most HR's by a Cardinals rookie (37)
-1995 All State Team Member
-1996 All State Team Member
-1997 All State Team Member
-1997 Hit a HR that landed on top of a 25 foot air conditioning unit 450 feet from home plate, at the age of 17
-1998 All State Team Member
-1999 Turned unassisted triple play at SS, and hit HR, in his first game in college
-2000 Maple Wood Community College retires Albert's number 33 after just one season of play for them.
-2000 Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year
-2000 Baseball America's Midwest League's best batting prospect
-2000 Baseball America's Top Defensive 3B
-2000 Midwest League All-Star
-2000 Midwest League Most Valuable Player
-2000 Most Valuable Player of the PCL Playoffs
-2001 NL Rookie of the Year
-2001 Baseball America Major League Rookie of the Year
-2001 Top N.L. rookie by Baseball Weekly, The Sporting News, Baseball Digest, and the Players' Choice Awards
-2001 Topps Rookie All Star (3B)
-2001 Larry Doby Award
-2001 NL Silver Slugger (3B)
-2002 NL All Star
-2003 NL Silver Slugger (OF)
-2003 NL All Star
-2003 Cardinals Roberto Clemente Award Nominee
-2003 Players' Choice Major League Player of the Year
-2003 NL Batting Title
-2003 NL Hank Aaron Award
-2003 National League's Outstanding Player
- 2003 The Sporting News N.L. All-Star team 1B
-2003 Sporting News Major League Player of the Year
-2004 NL All Star
-2004 NL Silver Slugger (1B)
-2004 NLCS Most Valuable Player
-2004 The Sporting News N.L. All-Star team 1B
-2005 NL All Star
-2005 NL Most Valuable Player
-2005 Cardinals Roberto Clemente Award Nominee
-2005 Baseball America Major League Player of the Year
-2005 Oscar Charleston Award
-2005 Most Valuable Player Award as presented by the Negro Leagues Museum
-2005 Named 1B Major League Baseball Latino Legends Team
-2005 National League Champion
...and counting.
Shane
Well, we knew it couldn't last forever.
Albert Pujols, left, holds his right side after pulling up while chasing a foul ball in the second inning as Cardinal Manager
Albert Pujols Leaves Game With Injury As Cubs, Led by Aramis Ramirez, Down Cardinals 8-5
As a KC fan who has no love for St. Louis, I have great respect for the way he plays the game and I hate to see him get hurt.
Shane
<< <i>Does Mihlfeld’s name sound familiar? If it doesn’t, he — and we assure you, this gives us no pleasure to write this — has been Albert Pujols’ personal trainer since before Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 draft. We have no confirmation that Pujols’ name is in the affidavit … but Mihlfeld’s is. If you read the document, it doesn’t say the trainer/Mihlfeld supplied all the HGH and what-not; it just says the trainer was the referrer.
Yeah. Sigh. We just report what we’re told, folks. Ever hope your source is wrong? This is one of those times. >>
Just because he's a nice guy doesn't make him immune... If he indeed took performance enhancers, regardless of his nice guy persona, he deserves to be punished just like all of the other cheaters.
I could be mistaken, but didn't a couple of players, Pujols included, ask to be tested simply to disassociate themselves from the "pack"? If this was the case, I believe the players union icksnayed that right away. All it will take is one player to step up and have a third party administer a test, and MLB will be on the right track.
Here is what it says in the Kansas City Star -
Former Royals trainer denies steroid involvement
By WRIGHT THOMPSON
The Kansas City Star
A local trainer linked by internet reports to the federal investigation of pitcher Jason Grimsley denied on Friday his involvement in any illegal activity. Chris Mihlfeld, who is also the personal trainer for baseball stars Albert Pujols and Mike Sweeney and once worked for the Royals, told The Star that he is not named in Grimsley's now infamous affidavit.
"I just don't want my name to be part of this," he said. "It's not fair to me. It's not fair to my family. It's not fair to the other players I work with. It's not fair to the kids I work with."
A report late Thursday, on the blog deadspin.com, attempted to answer the most popular question in baseball: who are the blacked out, redacted names listed in Grimsley's affidavit? In the 20-page document, there are numerous names hidden from public view. The baseball rumor mills have spent the last week filling them in.
When Grimsley mentioned a former trainer, Mihlfeld's name quickly surfaced. Mihlfeld helped Grimsley, a former Royal, recover from Tommy John surgery faster than expected, a feat that has now attracted suspicion.
"They've got the wrong name on that deal," Mihlfeld said.
The trainer said both Grimsley and Grimsley's attorney told him he was not in the document. Edward Novak, a Phoenix criminal defense lawyer representing the pitcher, didn't immediately return a voice mail and an e-mail seeking comment.
"He was in baseball 18 years before I got to meet him," Mihlfeld said. "If you think in the last three or four years, that I'm the one getting him to do this, it's just ignorance."
Any connection between Mihlfeld and Grimsley would also, for the first time, provide a connection between performance enhancers and Pujols, who has been followed by allegations. Mihlfeld insisted that the St. Louis slugger is clean.
"I can guarantee you that one, too," he says. "I've known Albert since he was 18 years old. Albert won't even drink his protein shakes anymore during the season because he's scared they're contaminated. That's been part of his training for the last five or six years, and all of a sudden he won't even do that. He's tired of it. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of people putting this kid down. He's a great kid. Let him be great. He's clean."
Mihlfeld said he has spoken to both Grimsley and Pujols since this scandal broke. He described Pujols, who went to high school in the Kansas City area, as frustrated.
"You know why he's frustrated?" he said. "Because he cares. He cares what every little kid thinks about him. He cares if some kid picks up a magazine, and they start talking about steroids. He cares that little kids will always link that to him. He's sick about it. He hates it."
Shane
<< <i>I wouldn't read anything into this until more information comes out. Mihlfeld was also a trainer for the Royals (hired by the team, not an individual). Does this make the entire Royal's team a bunch of juicers? Although God knows they can sure use it these days. >>
Now there's a thought.
Instead of bickering over salary caps and teams that make tons of money but don't pay the players...
...just allow the bottom 25% of each league every year to dose up on PEDs the next year.
Imagine the fun in predicting how many lbs. these guys can put on by the next spring, and which one will stroke out on the field!
MLB had better find a way to get past the blood test issue or this problem will not end.
Look for some bigger names to come out before the start of the '07 season. MLB will finally get tough. It's the only thing they can do in the wake of their own negligence.
How many Royal's are built like a friggin brick wall ala Pujols ?
pujols has been great since he was a teenager (1997 Hit a HR that landed on top of a 25 foot air conditioning unit 450 feet from home plate, at the age of 17 ), he is 1 in a zillion, a true natural, its not often a non cheater can be still considered great among a sea of cheaters...
Pujols is clean, there is such a difference in body shape between pujols and bonds.....bonds is all upper body, chest and arms bulging with veins and muscles, no lower body strength (thus knee injuries)....Pujols has huge thighs and torso, no cuts or bulging muscles in his arms or chest, pujols has always been heafty, a strict health diet and exercise freak has made pujols body, not HGH or roids....
this assumed association of Pujols Trainer and Grimsley in Deadspin's "reporting" is slanderous in my opinion, i hope pujols lawyer sees that website....
<< <i>That pujols/hgh story was fiction (the websites opinion) created by deadspin website to get some free press....
pujols has been great since he was a teenager (1997 Hit a HR that landed on top of a 25 foot air conditioning unit 450 feet from home plate, at the age of 17 ), he is 1 in a zillion, a true natural, its not often a non cheater can be still considered great among a sea of cheaters...
Pujols is clean, there is such a difference in body shape between pujols and bonds.....bonds is all upper body, chest and arms bulging with veins and muscles, no lower body strength (thus knee injuries)....Pujols has huge thighs and torso, no cuts or bulging muscles in his arms or chest, pujols has always been heafty, a strict health diet and exercise freak has made pujols body, not HGH or roids....
this assumed association of Pujols Trainer and Grimsley in Deadspin's "reporting" is slanderous in my opinion, i hope pujols lawyer sees that website.... >>
You can hope that he's clean but you don't know for a fact if he is or isn't... Period.
Just because he's a nice guy don't mean squat; Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa can attest to that
Pujols' guru gets his support
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/15/2006
PUJOLS
"I have nothing to worry about."
PLEASANT VALLEY, MO.
The wall inside the entrance to Millhouse AEP is covered with framed autographed photos of major league first basemen Albert Pujols and Mike Sweeney. The player wearing Cardinals red is connected to the area by his upbringing; the other, wearing Kansas City Royals blue, by his current team.
Until last Tuesday the wall also featured pictures of veteran pitcher Jason Grimsley.
The men's lives intersect here at the suburban Kansas City facility run by personal trainer and former coach Chris Mihlfeld. Pujols, Sweeney and Grimsley rarely worked out together, opting for individual sessions. But they came to befriend each other and respect their "guru" Mihlfeld, a local athletic legend who served as strength and conditioning coach for several major league teams, most recently the Royals.
Last week an unpleasant glare followed them all - most harshly Mihlfeld - because of a shadow Grimsley created by his admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs. That's when Grimsley's pictures came down.
"Jason's a friend," Mihlfeld says. "But that's not what I stand for. And the people who come here, that's not what they stand for."
When federal investigators in Phoenix released an affidavit June 6 detailing Grimsley's ties to human growth hormone, steroids and amphetamines, an Internet web site and MSNBC television cited an anonymous source to list Mihlfeld as one of the blacked-out names.
The affidavit quoted Grimsley as fingering "a former employee of the (obliterated team's name) and several Major League Baseball players, once referred him to an amphetamine source."
Grimsley quickly asked for and was granted his release by the Arizona Diamondbacks and on Tuesday received a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.
"Mike doesn't deserve any of this. Albert doesn't deserve this. I don't deserve this," Mihlfeld said while waiting to start a program at Millhouse.
Pujols addressed the matter Wednesday night.
"It's not about me. It's not about Mike Sweeney. I don't resent this as much for myself as I do for Chris," Pujols said. "He's got no way to defend himself against somebody who puts something out there that's not true.
"I've said before I have nothing to worry about. If they want to test me and Mike, then let's go. I'll do it tomorrow. No problem. But Chris has been put in a really unfair position. I know it bothers him. I hear it every time I talk to him."
Pujols said he would pay any legal fees should Mihlfeld seek redress for being linked to the growing scandal.
"This isn't right," Pujols said. "All Chris wanted was his place and a chance to help kids and help us. He doesn't even want us to pay him."
Pujols addressed his training habits last month, angrily dismissing suggestions he ever had used any artificial help.
(To be safe, Mihlfeld said Pujols recently stopped drinking protein shakes that include Creotine.) Pujols also defended San Francisco outfielder Barry Bonds by reminding that the embattled slugger never has tested positive since the commissioner's office implemented its steroid policy in 2003.
The matter has become an irritant to Pujols, who still leads the major leagues in home runs and RBIs almost two weeks after landing on the disabled list because of a strained muscle in his right side.
"Why would I do something like that to my family? Why would I do something like that to God? Why would I do something like that to my team?" Pujols asked. "Just to try to gain some small extra? It's part of what I believe: What you do in the dark will come into the light. I have nothing to fear. I'm just tired of hearing about it."
Pujols said he has spoken to Mihlfeld numerous times since the trainer's name was linked to the affidavit.
"I don't have too many friends, but Chris is one of my best friends," Pujols said. "To see and hear him go through this bothers me a lot. I just hope when everything comes out they remember what's been done to this guy."
Sweeney began training with Mihlfeld when the trainer joined the Royals' staff in 2003. Last week Sweeney wasted little time confirming his friendship with Grimsley while maintaining he knows the reports about Mihlfeld to be erroneous.
"The only common denominator Albert, Jason and I have is that we train with Chris," Sweeney said. "Unfortunately, a number of people want to point a finger at that common denominator and infer guilt. I know the names of the people on the affidavit. Even before I knew, I would have bet my life savings that none of us three would be on it."
A muscular man who prefers his head shaved, Mihlfeld has spoken to them all while experiencing the G-forces caused by a rocket ride from relative obscurity to an alleged facilitator. A resident of nearby Liberty, Mo., Mihlfeld plans to move his wife and three small girls into a new home soon. Meanwhile, recent reports have complicated his current situation.
Mihlfeld said he has received numerous threatening e-mails since the Internet report appeared. A pick-up truck full of hecklers rolled by his current address last week to shout insults. Mihlfeld's children were outside at the time.
"I know none of it's true but that doesn't make it any less difficult on my wife and children," he said. "That's really the hard part."
Mihlfeld worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays before spending 2003-04 with the Royals. Grimsley pitched in middle relief for the Royals from 2001-04.
The affidavit's description fits Mihlfeld neatly, except he says Grimsley and Grimsley's lawyer insist his name appears nowhere in the document.
Grimsley's story broke shortly after Sports Illustrated and Sporting News published profiles about Pujols that in part detailed his strong relationship with Mihlfeld. Last winter Pujols spent weeks working out two to five hours daily at Millhouse with his instructor. The "intense" sessions shifted from cardiovascular work to hitting to weightlifting, sometimes with a lunch break in between.
Performance-enhancing drugs are taboo to Mihlfeld, according to Sweeney. The first baseman said Mihlfeld once threatened to end their relationship if Sweeney accepted a colleague's advice to use a form of steroid to accelerate his recovery from a back injury.
"That's not his way and it's not our way," Sweeney said. "If you have a polygraph or a blood test, any of us - myself, Albert, Chris - we'd be glad to take them because we have nothing to hide."
Mihlfeld had strong words, too, about banned supplements.
"It's a short cut. It's cheating," Mihlfeld said. "I know it's received a lot of attention in the game recently. But Mike and Albert don't take short cuts. These guys are pure. They're Christian men who live their ethic."
As for Grimsley, a popular player with teammates, Mihlfeld said, "He made a bad mistake and he's paying for that mistake. He understands that."
Leased by Mihlfeld, Millhouse AEP opened to the public last January. It's in a corporate-industrial park about 20 minutes northeast of downtown Kansas City. Mihlfeld declines to discuss his financial arrangement with Pujols, but notes his business would not have become reality without the Cardinal first baseman's assistance.
Pujols purchased much of the equipment found within the warehouse-sized operation. Pitching machines, several hitting cages and free weights each have their place.
The business' initials sometimes are mistaken for Pujols' but instead stand for Athletic Enhanced Performance.
Mihlfeld and Pujols' relationship goes far beyond athlete and personal trainer. Pujols speaks of Mihlfeld as "like a brother." Mihlfeld, 37, sometimes speaks of providing a parental influence and often refers to El Hombre as "a great kid."
Pujols and his wife, Deidre, had yet to marry when she introduced him to Mihlfeld in 1998 during Pujols' senior year at Fort Osage High School. Pujols did not yet speak fluent English and Deidre did most of the talking, recalls Mihlfeld, then baseball coach at nearby Maple Woods Junior College. Mihlfeld eventually recruited Pujols to attend Maple Woods but accepted a job with the Dodgers as assistant strength and conditioning coach before Pujols' first junior college game.
The last week's tremors have unsettled a community that remembers Mihlfeld, who first became famous as a sophomore for throwing the final out of Winnetonka High's 1985 state baseball championship.
"When Chris commits to doing something, it's total," says Hank Reese, Mihlfeld's assistant wrestling coach at Winnetonka. "You'd better not be faint of heart if you train with Chris. He'll grind you. Chris is also not one to compromise his values."
Adds Reese: "I saw the reports and read the papers. That was the thing that popped into my head. I can't fathom Mike Sweeney would do anything like this. I can't fathom Albert would, either."
Mihlfeld compiled a .500 record as a sophomore before winning the state wrestling title in the 155-pound weight class as a junior. He then won the 167-pound class as a senior before attending Central Missouri State to play third base and continue his wrestling career. At CMSU, Mihlfeld twice became a Division II national wrestling champion and an All-America third baseman.
"Chris was a hard worker who did more than what was asked," says former Winnetonka wrestling and baseball coach Don Giannola. "He really worked hard to get better. What you see in Albert is the way Chris was. You can see how Chris has influenced Albert that way."
Added Giannola: "I really don't understand who started this. I know what they're saying - (Mihlfeld) is connected with Grimsley, so Pujols must be the same way. That's ridiculous. That's like saying since once politician is corrupt, they all are. They're just trying to find any speck of dirt on anybody and exploit in the papers and television."
Shane