RealGM Baseball: Extra Bases - Be The GM Final Four: Albert Pujols Vs. Tim Lincecum

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Be The GM Final Four: Albert Pujols Vs. Tim Lincecum

Authored by Christopher Reina - 5th April, 2009 - 1:32 am

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As the NCAA Tournament and Spring Training dominate the month of March and early April, we have combined the two for our own March Madness, which will determine who the readers of RealGM will select in the second edition of our 'Be The GM' series.

Though there are many different potential answers, the question is simple; If you were to start a MLB franchise from scratch and had the option to pick any player in the world, who would you pick?

Click here for more information on this series and to read other match-ups.

The Final Four is finally here with David Wright, Evan Longoria, Albert Pujols and Tim Lincecum still standing.

Tim Lincecum, RHP, San Francisco Giants

In just his second season in the majors, Tim Lincecum won the Cy Young by striking out 265 in 227 innings with a 2.62 ERA. He had 18 of the Giants' 72 wins for the 2008 season. Lincecum joined the likes of Walter Johnson and Dwight Gooden amongst the 18 seasons in which a player 24 or younger struck out 250 or more batters.

Lincecum has an unorthodox delivery and is extremely small in build, but there is absolutely nothing to suggest he won't have a healthy career.

Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals

Assuming we don't end up being thrown any PED curveballs a few years down the road the way we did with Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, it will be safe to place Albert Pujols on the highest of pantheons.

Pujols reached the 4,500 at bat plateau during the 2008 season and he now ranks 7th all time in OPS+ behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby and Mickey Mantle. That number should increase over the next five or six seasons assuming offensive production continues to decline as we come out of the steroid era.

His production over the first eight years of his career places him on a level that no other great can really compare to. Only Ralph Kiner hit more homers, only Ted Williams and Frank Thomas had a higher OPS,

Pujols moved all around the diamond during his first three seasons, but he has found a home at first base and he has become a very underrated defensive player.

Click here to cast your vote for Lincecum or Pujols.

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