Mystery man

Questions abound as Pujols flirts with superstardom

Why on earth is Marty Kilgore spewing expletives over the phone line? You’d figure all would be right in his world. School is out for the summer at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, Mo., and Kilgore's former protégé, Albert Pujols, has evolved into the most dangerous offensive threat in baseball.

Take a vote right now, and Pujols is the runaway National League MVP. This after finishing second to Barry Bonds last year and claiming NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2001. As the All-Star break approaches, the Cardinals' left-fielder is even threatening to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1967.

All that aside, Kilgore goes ballistic when it comes to rumors about Pujols’ age -- he turned 23 last January -- and knucklehead scouts who goofed so badly that he was available when the St. Louis picked in the 13th round of the 1999 draft. The long wait brought but a modest $10,000 signing bonus (Pujols' current $900,000 salary still makes him one of the game’s best buys), while top picks were handed millions.

“They don’t know what the hell they’re doing here in the Midwest as far as drafting," rants Kilgore, the Maple Woods baseball coach. “There are some idiots here that think they know the game. It is damn ridiculous -- 13th round. This guy’s not getting paid money that some got that haven’t even stepped on the damn [major league] field yet."

But first things first. Why does Pujols’ age remain an industry-wide topic of conversation?

Well, ever since he arrived as a 16-year-old at Fort Osage High School in Independence, Mo. -- the home of President Harry S. Truman -- the age question has dogged Pujols like a bad cold. The kid was already close to 6-feet-3 and more physically developed than others his age. He had the stroke and power of a mature player.

And so the questions lingered, from high school to American Legion summer ball to Maple Woods to the big leagues.

“Anything people want to check, go back to the Dominican Republic and pull what they can pull," says Kilgore, who remains a close friend of Pujols'. “All I know is I’ve seen all the green cards and birth certificates -- and his word is good enough for me.

“I’ve been dealing with this ever since he got here. You had parents and kids complaining, questioning his age. Jealousy. Because we got a big strong kid that can do something. He’s got an accent -- they don’t understand him. Hell, nobody wanted him. Everybody wanted to hold him down. They still want to make an excuse for this guy being as great as he is.

“One of the greatest baseball players ever to put on a jockstrap and they don’t want to buy into it. What they don’t get is Albert’s life is so simple. He loves his wife [Deidre] and baseball. He doesn’t get sidetracked. If this kid stays healthy, in 15 years he can tell them all to go kiss his butt. Screw his age."

Kilgore staunchly vouches for Pujols' 23 candles.

“I mean 23 or 25, what difference does it make? But the fact is he’s 23," says Kilgore. “What ticks me off is it’s a character issue. He takes it that way and I take it that way. This is a personal slam on what he says."

Pujols’ high school coach, Dave Fry, and Phil Caldarella, a school district official and summer league coach, agree.

“I was around him every day at the school," Caldarella says. “He may look like a man, but he was just a kid."

Pujols played two years at Fort Osage, leading the team to a Missouri state championship his first spring. The school successfully petitioned for an extra year of eligibility in what would have been his senior season, but big Albert instead left for Maple Woods in January 1999. He played juco ball the spring before being drafted, earning All-America honors as a shortstop.

Where the 20 or so scouts who came to every game fouled up is the mystery. Pujols isn’t a five-tool player. He doesn’t run particularly well, lacks Vladimir Guerrero’s arm and will never bring home a Gold Glove. But he’s a hitter with slugger’s power and terrific instincts.

If this were a late-round pick who scuffled for years in the farm system, it might be easier to understand. But Pujols sped through the Cardinals’ system and is a statistical oddity in two-plus big league seasons: the only player in baseball history to bat .300, drive in 100 runs, score 100 runs and hit 30 home runs in each of his first two seasons.

And heading into the break, Pujols is on pace to shatter his own power numbers (26 home runs and 82 RBIs entering play Friday night) while leading the majors with a gaudy .365 average and the NL with 125 hits.

“I had scouts come to me the next year after the draft and tell me they didn’t turn him in [as a guy worth drafting]," says Kilgore, still fuming. “You got damn poor scouting, that is how you explain it. You have 100 guys who do their job and know what they’re doing and another 200 scouting each other."

At this point, Pujols' age and what a bunch of tired baseball guys thought is irrelevant. Whether he’s 23 or 25, Pujols can flat-out hit.

“The question of is he 23 ... " says Kilgore. "What the hell -- try and get him out, all right?"

Mike Fish is a senior writer for SI.com.

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