Albert Pujols

Voted on by baseball fans and members of the media, the Roberto Clemente Award has been given annually since 1971 to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contribution to his team". 

Named after 12-time All-Star and Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente in 1973, the award was named after Clemente died on New Year's Eve 1972 while trying to deliver supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.

We all know of the baseball greats, the players whose performances have stood the tests of time. Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Lefty Grove, not to mention the obvious ones. We know of those who are leading the charge in today's game. Josh Hamilton, Tim Lincecum, Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, just to name a few.

First base is as deep of a position as any in baseball, though there are injury concerns hanging over a few of the best options in the game.  Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Kendry Morales and Justin Morneau all have questions due to various injuries.  

How does that affect the rankings?  Let’s take a look at how we currently stand:

Months before Stephen Strasburg's name (and elbow) was mentioned in the same sentence as Tommy John, the hype surrounding him and the anticipation of his arrival into Major League Baseball rivaled fans consumption of Fernandomania in the 1980s.

So much for first postseason jitters.

On Wednesday night, the incomparable Roy Halladay set the bar even higher, cementing his name in the record books as he threw a no-hitter in game one of the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds.

Halladay's performance was only the second no-hitter in postseason history, (Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956 world series the only other), and simultaneously marked the first time since 1973 (Nolan Ryan) that a pitcher completed two no-hitters in one season.

I hope you are sitting down when you read this because it might shock you: The Cardinals picked up their option for Albert Pujols.

The fact that this "no-brainer of the century" transaction even made the headlines on ESPN.com made me laugh. After all, what are they going to tell us next, that we're in an economic downturn? 

The Cardinals came into this season expecting to challenge the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League pennant and to dethrone the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Albert Pujols did everything he could possibly do and then some to try to get the St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs.  But, with the Cincinnati Reds preparing for October, something clearly went wrong.  The Cardinals came into the 2010 season with World Series aspirations, but now they will have to settle for watching it on TV.

Pujols did have some help this year.  Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Matt Holiday all deserve credit for having excellent years.

Say what you want about the problems with MLB's current playoff system. You can bemoan the addition of the Wild Card, or whine about how home field advantage for the World Series is determined by the All-Star Game, or complain that a best-of-five series is a poor way to determine which of two good teams is superior.

But when the first round kicks off on Wednesday, don't pretend that you won't be watching.

As the 2010 regular season enters its final week, there is some drama left in the pennant races, but lots of drama and intrigue remaining in the battle for various individual statistical titles, and the more prestigious awards that players covet.

In the AL, we have known which four teams would qualify for the playoffs for many weeks,but how who will win the AL East battle between the Yankees and Rays?  The Twins also are battling for  best record in the league.