Sometimes, a player has a career that makes them a borderline Hall of Famer. There are lots of arguments among fans about if they should be in or out.
But sometimes a player explodes onto the scene and dominates for so long that those arguments are moot. Because of this no-doubt status, sometimes these players are underappreciated in terms of just how great they are.
Albert Pujols may just be one of these players. Despite a long slow decline phase, his career numbers paint a picture of an almost cartoonish level of greatness.
But who is Albert Pujols? And what are the best Albert Pujols rookie cards?
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Albert Pujols is nothing short of one of the greatest players of the 21st century. Only a 13th-round pick in 1999 out of community college, the Dominican-born Pujols burst onto the scene in 2001, winning the NL Rookie of the Year award.
This kicked off a decade-plus of Pujols being dominant with the Cardinals. Over those 11 years, Pujols hit a combined .328/.420/.617 with a 1.037 OPS and 170 OPS+. He hit 445 home runs and passed 2,000 hits and 1,300 RBI for that time period.
He won three MVP awards and finished in the top 5 in the MVP voting 10 out of those 11 seasons. He won a batting title and lit up the leaderboards. He led the league in WAR 6 straight seasons at one point. He was worth 86.6 WAR in the 10 years alone.
That run made him a no-doubt future Hall of Famer. He parlayed that amazing run into a massive 10-year/$240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. While his time with the Angels had a handful of strong seasons, generally speaking, it was far more pedestrian.
He added 234 home runs to his career total but put up a line of .256/.311/.448 for an OPS of .758 and 108 OPS+.
As the contract approached its end, the Angels released Pujols, who quickly signed with the cross-town Dodgers and put up an OPS+ around 100 in limited time. The following year, he resigned with the St. Louis Cardinals, making his return to the city of his biggest glories.
At 42, Pujols captured a bit of that past glory and finished his career with a season in which he hit 24 home runs in only 351 plate appearances while putting up a line of .270/.345/.550 with an OPS of.895 and 151 OPS+.
The last few of those home runs pushed Pujols past 700 for his career, which ranks 4th all-time. He finished his career with 3,384 career hits (10th all-time).
Despite the long, sometimes painful decline phase, he still finished his career with a line of .296/.374/.544, good for an OPS of .918 and OPS+ of 145. He was worth a staggering 101.2 WAR in his career, the second highest career WAR total for any first baseman, behind only Lou Gehrig.
In addition to the 3 MVP Awards, over 3,300 career hits, and over 700 career home runs, Pujols was also an 11-time All-Star, 6-time Silver Slugger winner, and two-time Gold Glove winner and World Series champ. All told, Albert Pujols was nothing short of an all-time great.
He first becomes eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2028 and should receive over 99% of the vote and become a first-year inductee, perhaps even being a unanimous selection.
Shop for Albert Pujols rookie cards on eBay
According to the Trading Card Database (TCDB.com), Albert Pujols has appeared on a whopping 29,477 cards since his debut. That number is sure to shoot past 30,000 just this year, as he appears in 55 cards in just 2025 Topps Series 1 alone.
With his first cardboard appearances in 2000 minor league products and his rookie cards in 2001, there have been over a quarter of a century of Albert Pujols cards to chase.
Shop for Albert Pujols rookie cards on eBay
The base Bowman Pujols rookie card, the 2001 Bowman Albert Pujols #264 has a PSA population below 2,800, which feels low for a rookie card of this caliber. Add in that there are fewer than 200 PSA 10s, and you have a card that sells regularly for $800-860 in that condition.
The 2001 Bowman Chrome Albert Pujols #340 offers up an autographed, chromium Pujols rookie card. With a total population of only 500, with 220 copies graded by PSA, these sell for $10,000-$14,000 in a PSA 9, with only 6 PSA 10 copies and no recent sales.
The 2001 Bowman Heritage Albert Pujols card is short-printed. The total PSA population is only 441, with 59 of those in PSA 10 slabs. Yet they sell for only around $450 in that condition, which feels like a potential opportunity.
A chromium premium option, the 2001 Topps Chrome Albert Pujols #596 again has a fairly low population for a card of its importance.
Topps got Pujols into its traded products as well, with the base 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies Albert Pujols #T247 having a PSA population of over 3,800, but only 266 PSA 10s.
That keeps the price up in the $1,200 range. The premium chrome 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies Chrome Albert Pujols #T247 has a lower total population, but more PSA 10’s, putting it in roughly the same price range for a PSA 10.
Of note is that the 2001 Topps Trade and Chrome Traded sets have a dual card featuring Pujols and AL ROY Ichiro Suzuki, making for a great combo card of the two icons of their era.
Pujols also has rookie cards in many other 2001 products, including Bowman’s Best, Donruss, Finest, Fleer, Leaf, MLB Showdown, Playoff, SP, Topps Gallery, Topps Reserve, and Upper Deck.
| Card | Total PSA Pop | Recent Sale Pop | Recent Sale Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Bowman Albert Pujols #264 | 2,799 | PSA 10 = 187 | PSA 10 = $800-860 |
| 2001 Bowman Chrome Albert Pujols #340 AU | 220 | PSA 9 = 119 | PSA 9 = $10,000-14,000 |
| 2001 Bowman Heritage Albert Pujols SP #351 | 441 | PSA 10 = 59 | PSA 10 = $450 |
| 2001 Topps Chrome Albert Pujols #596 | 1,722 | PSA 10 = 181 | PSA 10 = $750-1,000 |
| 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies Albert Pujols #T247 | 3,813 | PSA 10 = 266 | PSA 10 = $1,200 |
| 2001 Topps Traded & Rookies Chrome Albert Pujols #T247 | 2,158 | PSA 10 = 465 | PSA 10 = $1,000-1,375 |
Albert Pujols is a sure thing, no doubt future Hall of Famer. Yet his rookie cards, while expensive, may offer up a bit of an opportunity. This may be the time to buy, especially when you consider how some of the cards have fairly low PSA populations, especially for PSA 10s.
What’s your favorite Albert Pujols memory? What is your favorite Albert Pujols rookie card? What do you think his Hall of Fame vote total ends up being? Tell us what’s on your mind at CardLines on X.
Shop for Albert Pujols rookie cards on eBay
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