Drive

On an average day in June or maybe it was July, maybe August, Albert Pujols hit a home run. The date doesn't matter, neither does the score, count or distance of the bomb. It's what he did after. On this particular slam, the shiny-headed slugger flipped his bat and stared out toward the pitcher's mound. During the moments following that home run, whenever it was, Pujols showed the same ferocity Lawrence Taylor did after ripping the spine from quarterback's body.

When King Albert returned to the dugout, his teammate Scott Rolen scolded him. The veteran third baseman gave him the old "don't disrespect the game" speech and Pujols nodded. It was something he hadn't really done before - disrespect the game, that is. And, from the guy who secretly visits children's hospitals and makes routine missions to aid desperately poor countries, flipping the bat with an angry snarl was down right bizarre.

Did he got caught up in a big moment? No. It wasn't a random outburst, it was a slip. Albert let the source of his drive to be Major League Baseball's greatest hitter show just a little.

The pitcher was Oliver Perez. And, suppose the home run was in July. Well, in April or so, Perez struck out Pujols to end an inning. Keep in mind this was all before Perez forgot how to throw a strike for the Mets, so Oli was pretty darn nasty. As Albert walked back toward the dugout, in the corner of his eye, he saw Perez fist-pumping and dancing around the mound. Pujols didn't forget.

A good memory can do more for an athlete than any set of weights.

Michael Jordan still has a deep burning rage toward anyone and everyone he ever perceived to ever think once in their life that he couldn't beat them. You've seen his Hall of Fame speech, right? Kobe Bryant still holds a grudge against Smush Parker. Yes, Smush Parker. Bob Gibson is still angry that Joe Torre told him how to pitch a batter in an All-Star game in the 60s.

Pujols' memory dates back farther than Perez getting jiggy on the mound after a K. In a 60 Minutes report, he revealed the devastation of draft day when he fell to the 13th round. Albert, who apparently can't read Baseball-Reference.com, said he still wants to prove every team wrong. Pujols still remembers a since-fired Cardinals scout who wasn't impressed, saying in an interview the scout "had it coming."

Sure, it's maniacal. Probably unhealthy. You'd think Pujols would get dizzy chasing after every ill word. But, like Jordan, Bryant and Gibson, the anger funnels into super-human drive to win. But those guys are more obvious. Jordan stuck his tongue out, Bryant scowled and Gibson threw chin music. Pujols just smiles. But, when he's giving his Hall of Fame speech filled with humility, know that inside his mind, he's flipping the bat.