[jacobystealshome]

new era has diluted pitching, smaller ballparks, tons of expansions teams, pitchers that dont pitch inside. all you have to do is look at offensive numbers for the league as a whole as see pujols played in an era where offense was inflated league wide. so, no: pujols doesnt face greater competition as a batter versus a pitcher

and he does not have better numbers.

willie mays is the greatest to ever play the game. because fielding matters as well. he was a 5 tool guy. albert is an average/power/obp guy. but he doesnt have the speed aspect his game.

i can do this with old school stats or new school. how do you want it?

new school? alright: mays has a career WAR of 154 (4th). pujols? 89 (31st)

old school? well, i could be cruel and compare stolen bases. i could point out that mays was a career 302 hitter, and pujols career BA will diminish as his career goes on, like it did for mays.

of course, any accumulated stat, mays clearly leads, but that isnt fair to what pujols projected stats may be at the age of 31. however, there are a few stats which pujols wont close: runs, and runs created for instance (hit ya with both old and new in the same sentence).

but the simple fact is that mays with his defense and speed give him clear edges where even with projected numbers pujols might be close in