Albert Pujols is about to become the 9th player in the history of Major League Baseball to enter the 600 career home runs club. In fact, he's only 4 away, yet it seems like no one cares. I remember when I was growing up, we were so home-run hungry, and any record that revolved around that stat was such a big deal. Yet now, I see no countdowns, no tickers, no Albert watch. Nothing.
I've gone to several different websites, and the story isn't even sniffing headline status. Not @ ESPN.com, CBSsports.com, FoxSports.com, NBCsports.com, our website, and it was 9th on the list of headlines at MLB.com. Wrap your head around that, Pujols is about to join one of the most prestigious clubs in baseball lure, and it's 9th on the list at Major League Baseball's own site!
Why isn't this a big deal anymore?
Obviously, once the dust settled on the steroid era, some of the lust we felt for the long ball had worn off. No doubt about that. But we're talking about a guy that has never had any real PED allegations surrounding him, so again, why are we holding this against him? My guess is, two fold:
1) We no longer recognize Albert Pujols as an elite player, he went to LA, and was never the same as he was when he was in St. Louis. Face it, even though they're in LA which is a big market, no one cares about the Angels. Just ask the guy who should be MLB's biggest star, Mike Trout. That team generates zero interest and that's in part because of the massive disappointment Pujols was after he signed that mega-deal w/ the Angels.
2) New or young baseball fans are done with the old guard. The old guard like the A-Rod's, the Pujols's, the Ortiz's that almost ruined the sport with alleged and sometimes proven PED use. Pujols represents, in my opinion, part of an older generation that tainted the sport and devalued some of our favorite statistics. Based on this theory, these kind of records will return to the top of the headlines when players like Kris Bryant, Mike Trout, Anthony Rizzo, and Manny Machado are the names chasing 600.
Who knows. I admit, I could be wrong about this...But either way, Albert Pujols has almost 600 career home runs, and you don't care. That much I know.