11 times the Cardinals allowed fear to drive poor decision-making under John Mozeliak

Fear-based decision #2 - Allowing Albert Pujols to walk in free agency

This is probably going to be the most polarizing decision on this list, as I think many fans would say it ended up being the right decision in hindsight. While I tend to agree, I do think it's fair to say fear led to the Cardinals not ponying up the kind of offer needed to sign Pujols long-term, and it's fair to wonder how things would have played out in St. Louis had he stayed.

Things were getting rocky between Pujols and the front office as his contract expired with St. Louis. It was clear that the organization was not meeting what Pujols felt was a fair offer, and that led to him testing the waters of free agency and ultimately landing with the Angels.

No one can deny that Pujols' tenure with the Angels left a lot to be desired, but even so, he remained a very impactful player from 2012-2015, the same stretch the Cardinals were one of the best teams in baseball. We'll never know if Pujols would have maintained his dominance longer had he remained with St. Louis, but even if he was only as effective with them as he was with the Angels, he would have been an asset for the Cardinals lineup.

But the thing that will always linger in the minds of Cardinals fans is what if he kept us his all-time great performances? From his debut in 2001 through 2011, Pujols averaged a .328/.420/.617 slash line with 40 home runs, 41 doubles, and 121 RBI while posting a 7.9 bWAR per season. I think most of us have a hard time believing he wouldn't have been at least a 5 bWAR player with St. Louis, something he never did again in his career after leaving.

The lack of the designated hitter spot in the National League would have made it difficult for Pujols long-term, but if he had helped them capture another World Series from 2012-2015, it would have been worth it. Heck, even just never having to see the hitter who should have gone down as the best player in franchise history in another uniform would have been plenty for this fanbase.

Instead, the front office feared a decline from Pujols like he had with the Angels. Again, it is entirely possible that it would have played out the same way in St. Louis and become a major burden for the club to navigate throughout the 2010s, but we'll never know the answer to that. Fortunately, we got an incredible return season from Pujols in 2022 that really brought closure to his Cardinals' career.