- St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols grabs his left wrist after colliding with Kansas City’s Wilson Betemit on Sunday. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols will be out for 4-6 weeks with a fractured left forearm.
The team announced the results of an MRI and CT scan Monday, a day after Pujols was injured during a home game against Kansas City. The team said Pujols has a non-displaced fracture of his left radius and his arm is in a splint.
The three-time NL MVP and crown jewel of the 2012 free agent market was hurt after Wilson Betemit hit a chopper up the middle off Cardinals starter Jamie Garcia.
After the game, Puljols did his best to describe the situation:
“He hit me on my wrist and my shoulder. He kind of jammed me back. It’s the toughest play to make as a first baseman. It’s a bang-bang play. I saw the replay a couple of times, but I didn’t really want to look at it.” - Albert Pujols
As for the other player involved in the play, Kansas City third baseman Wilson Betemit said there was no way to avoid Pujols.
“I was running hard and the ball arrived at the same time I got to the base, I couldn’t do anything about it. He hit me on my left arm, that’s why he dropped the ball. I hit him and then I saw him on the ground. That’s part of the game. I couldn’t do anything about it.” - Wilson Betemit
Pujols is hitting .279 this year, starting to heat up after a slow start. The team said his left shoulder was sore, but no structural damage was found.
As Albert Pujols explained, the play he was involved in is indeed the toughest play for a first baseman. Cliff Floyd was never the same after he suffered a similar injury and the same could be said for Derrek Lee who currently plays first base for the Baltimore Orioles. Lee suffered an injury almost identical to Puljols’ injury and has struggled mightily to regain his form prior to the injury.
ESPN’s Buster Olney echoed similar sentiments in regards to Pujols’ injury but he also floated the idea that Pujols’ wrist could cause the Cardinals to lower their initial contract offer to the free agent-to-be, which, in Olney’s doomsday scenario, would snowball into Pujols leaving town.
