Has Matt Holliday helped Albert Pujols?

Matt Holliday’s offer to defer some of his salary in order to help secure Albert Pujols’ future in St. Louis shouldn’t come as a shock. A player widely considered the best right handed hitter in the history of baseball, Pujols’ presence in that lineup is monumental. And for Holliday, batting behind Albert in the Cardinals otherwise average lineup has been beneficial.

Holliday joined the Cardinals midway through the 2009 season via trade with the Oakland A’s. Since that date, his offensive production has seen a moderate bump.

Matt Holliday

	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA
4/1/2008 - 7/23/2009	1023	36	.309	.397	.508	.399
7/24/2009 - Present	958	42	.326	.399	.557	.416

Considering he spent his 2008 season in Colorado, the increase in his production after joining the Cards, however slight, is impressive. Yes, the first half of his 2009 season was played in Oakland, a ballpark not friendly to hitters. However, his 2008 and post-trade 2009 numbers are about equal (.417 to .416 wOBA respectively).

While Holliday has benefited from hitting behind Pujols, the latter can’t say the same. Albert Pujols

	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA
4/1/2008 - 7/23/2009	1052	71	.347	.459	.678	.482
7/24/2009 - Present	989	55	.318	.419	.595	.438

The drop is even more striking when you consider that Pujols posted a .727 SLG and .494 wOBA in 2009 before the trade, and a .580 SLG and .442 wOBA after it. Perhaps there is no correlation; Pujols’ numbers after the trade are outstanding for any hitter. But it is interesting how they seem to suggest he hasn’t gained any noticeable benefit from having Holliday hit behind him, at least not to this point.