TEMPE, Ariz. – Albert Pujols walked into the clubhouse on strong knees and pain-free feet Thursday, carrying with him the hopes of a franchise.
It’s no stretch to say that much of the reason the Angels are optimistic for a bounce-back season is because of the bounce being back in Pujols’ step.
“As long as I stay healthy,” Pujols said, “I’m going to hit.”
Pujols, 34, the Angels’ $240 million slugger, was a shell of his MVP-winning self in 2013, when he was rehabbing from surgery on his right knee and subsequently developed plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Now, the disappointing season, cut two months short when Pujols tore the tissue in his foot, is just a memory.
“It was a great (winter),” Pujols said. “It was a really good feeling to be able to train and not worry about it, to be able to train the way you want to train. That’s something I wasn’t able to do last year with the surgery.”
Pujols essentially had surgery last year, but he did it to himself when he tore the plantar fascia, relieving the tension. And he did it in July, rather than continuing to play through the pain and having the procedure in the offseason.
“It (stinks) to be sitting on the bench for the last two months last year, as competitive an athlete as I am, but at the same time it was for the best because I didn’t have to have the surgery and miss some of my offseason training,” Pujols said. “If I had the surgery, they said it would have been 4-5 months (of rehab). Do the math. That would have pushed toward spring training. I don’t think I would have trained the proper way. As bad as it looked, I take the positive away.”
Pujols said he went through a normal winter of baseball work, actually starting hitting earlier than usual because he wanted to make up for the time he lost. He has been taking ground balls and running better than he could at any point last year.
“You’re going to see it when I run around and move around,” he said. “I might sneak five or six (stolen bases) this year.”
The Angels will be satisfied if he can simply hit and play first base. Last year Pujols could barely do either, limited to designated hitter duty in 65 of the 99 games he played. He hit .258 with a .330 on-base percentage and a .437 slugging percentage – the second consecutive year he established new lows in all three categories.
“I don’t want to blame injury,” Pujols said. “You are never going to hear that out of my mouth. If you hear me complaining or using an injury as an excuse, then correct me. I’m not that type of guy. I struggled because it’s part of the game.”
Then again …
“It was like having a flat tire and a broken rim,” Pujols said of last year’s injuries. “This game is tough enough being 100 percent. Imagine having an injury to deal with. It’s hard.”
Now, Pujols said he’s feeling good, and he’s down about 7 pounds from where he finished last season, to 236. He said he spent the winter doing agility drills, jumping rope and running on the treadmill.
“I can’t recall a moment in the offseason where I thought, ‘Oh, that didn’t feel good,’” he said. “Everything has felt great.”
He also has been working on getting his hands back to the position they were during his best years with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Given Pujols’ improved health, the Angels are expecting big things from him. Pujols might have those expectations of himself, but he’s not saying.
“I’m going to go out and just play,” he said, “and at the end of the season see where we’re at.”
Contact the writer: jlfletcher@ocregister.com