Will Statue Entice Pujols To Stay?

If the Cardinals are unable to keep free agent megastar Albert Pujols in St. Louis, at least they’ll have a bronze mold of their franchise player that is incapable of going elsewhere. The best part about this figure? It doesn’t take $20 + million over the next 10 years to keep it in the city of St. Louis.

This 10-foot, 1,100-pound statue was dedicated outside the Pujols 5 restaurant in West Port Plaza on Wednesday. A crowd of hundreds gathered to take pictures and listen to Albert speak after the unveiling. Cadinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock was among those in attendance.

The statue project was commissioned two years ago by an anonymous donor who contributed between $50,000 and $150,000. It was created by Harry Weber, who has constructed many of the statues around Busch Stadium. The Pujols Family Foundation, which is based out of West Port, officially owns the statue.

Pujols had this to say:

"It’s awesome to hit home runs and win a World Series, but at the end I want my legacy to be remembered as a strong Christian guy who cares about people. People ask why I point to the sky. That’s to remind me that it’s not about me, but it’s about Jesus Christ. It’s really easy to lose focus when you have millions of people telling you how great you are."

I must say that this really is one hell of a statue, and for now, it is somewhat of a symbol of hope for all St. Louis Cardinals fans. I mean, how could he possibly leave town now that he can stare at a super-sized statue of himself on a regular basis? The Cubs might be able to throw a historic load of cash at Albert, but we have honored him with a historic load of pure bronze! Nothing says we want you to stay like a half ton of bronze.

Obviously the statue should not and will not have any effect on Albert’s decision, but it does come at an opportune, yet odd time. Maybe this is part of Pujols’ ceremonial goodbye to St. Louis, but maybe it’s a hidden sign of a return to the city he loves so much. Albert has often claimed that he loves the fans here and loves to play baseball here, but now that he’s fair game for all 32 Major League teams, there’s no telling how this might play out.