Under what scenario would Pujols retire before his contract is up?

[zenmaster]

Most think that there is no way Pujols will retire before his contract is up and he wants to keep on moving up the HR list. I'm wondering if there is anything that would make him retire?

I noticed his lifetime BA is now .310 and was much higher when we signed him (obviously). Unfortunately he's probably not concerned about his BA dropping below .300 but who knows? I'm sure HR is his most important stat. 

Can you think of any scenario where he'd retire early?

[Erstad Grit]

I think it would take back to back years of low .200's with less than 20 homeruns per year. 

[Troll Daddy]

Physically can't play.

[AngelsLakersFan]

I think if he' physically unable to play he will simply collect his checks on the DL.

The most likely scenario that ends with him retiring is that he is still healthy enough to play but his performance is so bad that Scioscia cannot justify putting him in the lineup. He will retire before he spends a year or more ridding the pine.

[gklingel52]

45 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

Doubt that would even do it. He would still think he's helping.

Back when he signed, Albert told Artie he would retire when he felt he was no longer able to play up to his standards.

[Chuck]

I guess Pujols has lowered his standards then. 

[gotbeer]

[GrittyVeterans]

Pujols will milk every penny of that contract. Blame Arte for agreeing to it

[Sully151]

He is 91 HR's away from the top five all time. I doubt he even considers it before then.

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Pujols will milk every penny of that contract. Blame Arte for agreeing to it

as well he should 

[LAAFANofLA]

1 hour ago, hangin n wangin said:

Doubt that would even do it. He would still be getting paid.

Fixed.

[gklingel52]

22 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Pujols will milk every penny of that contract. Blame Arte for agreeing to it

Even if Albert retired tomorrow, he would still get paid in full. However, the money owed to him would no longer be on the books so Artie would be free to spend $$$ w/o going over the cap.

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, gklingel52 said:

Even if Albert retired tomorrow, he would still get paid in full. However, the money owed to him would no longer be on the books so Artie would be free to spend $$$ w/o going over the cap.

No he wouldn't get paid in full. 

[Erstad Grit]

8 minutes ago, gklingel52 said:

Even if Albert retired tomorrow, he would still get paid in full. However, the money owed to him would no longer be on the books so Artie would be free to spend $$$ w/o going over the cap.

 Not accurate. Retiring players (Meche, Laroche) forfeit their salaries. 

[NrM]

Last year on May 26 Pujols started his fluke streak where he magically turned things around. He hit 21 HRs in 48 games from May 26th to July 20th.

How the fuck did that happen? What are the chances of it happening again? Time for Pujols to get back on the juice.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Mr Meeseeks

[Stradling]

What would help with that decision is to have a team where he isn't one of the better performers.  Sadly he is still one of the bigger threats in this line up.  Sure it would be easier to put better players on the team with his payroll off the books, but in the next two years the team will have about $70 million more to play with.  If the team made some smart signings and Albert is relegated to hitting 7th, then it might weigh on his decision.  

[jsnpritchett]

12 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Last year on May 26 Pujols started his fluke streak where he magically turned things around. He hit 21 HRs in 48 games from May 26th to July 20th.

How the fuck did that happen? What are the chances of it happening again? Time for Pujols to get back on the juice.

Yeah, just fluky.  From July 20th until the end of last season, he hit .224/.282/.388, numbers that are pretty similar to his .224/.306/.402 slashline coming into today's game.

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Sully151 said:

He is 91 HR's away from the top five all time. I doubt he even considers it before then.

That's been my thinking too for a while, that once he passes Mays for 5th place, that would hopefully be it.    He isn't passing anyone else or getting to #700.   He would still need 39 HRs, once passing Mays, to get to #700.  

[tomsred]

7 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Yeah, just fluky.  From July 20th until the end of last season, he hit .224/.282/.388, numbers that are pretty similar to his .224/.306/.402 slashline coming into today's game.

Yeah, but you also have to account for the fact that he was injured during that time last year.  He played through a lot of pain with his foot.  Granted, this year he seems healthy, and is putting up similar numbers, but he's a run producer, and in that regard he's produced as many runs as Trout (RBI).  He can't produce Trout's WAR obviously as he can't play defense enough, or can he hit consistently enough to do so.  He's definitely won some games for us this year, without him we might be 3-5 wins fewer (assuming there isn't another replacement available who would be on par with him).

I think the only way he retires early is if we have a much better player as a replacement, he gets dropped lower in the order, and he still gets his full contract.  And if we are going to pay for the entire contract, then I would keep him as a lower part of the order hitter at the level he is at, or even at a little lower level.

[jsnpritchett]

1 hour ago, tomsred said:

 without him we might be 3-5 wins fewer (assuming there isn't another replacement available who would be on par with him).

Nope, not even close to that.

[fan_since79]

If he's hitting .200 in subsequent years with a handful of home runs and Scioscia still has him in the cleanup spot, I'll need to ask my doctor for an upgrade in my heart medication.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2016 by fan_since79

[m0nkey]

Scenarios where he would retire before the end of his contract:

[Capital_Dave]

Actually, Pujols himself has answered this question: he'll retire early if his daughter Sophia qualifies for the 2020 Olympics.

So.... GO SOPHIA!

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/pujols-could-retire-before-contract-expires-to-attend-the-olympics-mlb-cardinals-angels/1fp7whq121cxl1rel4yf0n7hyc

[arch stanton]

If we all wish really hard and keep starting thread after thread maybe he'll retire.

[tomsred]

 

4 hours ago, tomsred said:

 without him we might be 3-5 wins fewer (assuming there isn't another replacement available who would be on par with him).

Nope, not even close to that. (jsnprinchett)

------------------

Dear Mr. jsnpritchett:

I disagree.  Here are the three obvious ones, plus he was involved in a few more rallies that led directly to wins.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/la-angels-albert-pujols-hits-game-winner-in-ninth-inning-for-walk-off-win-vs-texas-rangers-040816

http://sports.mynorthwest.com/127232/pujols-three-run-hr-in-ninth-gives-angels-9-7-win/

http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2016/05/24/Albert-Pujols-hits-569th-career-HR-as-Los-Angeles-Angels-blank-Texas-Rangers/7991464065559/