Who is the better right-handed hitter Albert Pujols or Manny Ramirez. Let me give you my take. While it’s close, I have to give my nod to Manny based on his body of work. Now no one could argue that Pujols is the better all-around player and eventually may put up better stats,

Manny has done his damage in harder baseball markets of Cleveland, Boston and Los Angeles compared to Pujols’s St. Louis market. Both have an amazing ability to keep their hands back and spray the ball to where they aren’t being played. Both players have home run power yet make contact regularly and don’t strike out a lot but Manny has consistently been a star among stars and has made other stars better in his line ups.

Albert Pujols is one of the game's all-time greats already.

Should I blame Pujols for playing on lesser teams? No, but the fact is when Manny has hit he’s been behind a Jim Thome, a David Ortiz among others and has chipped in when needed. Pujols has been the go-to  guy on teams with less talent and been the shining hitting star save an occasional appearance from Jim Edmonds or Scott Rolen (remember him?).

Manny has been a focal point on teams in cities starved for a championship in Cleveland and Boston which means the lights shine brighter! These two cities’ fans would have sawed their mother’s right arms off for a world championship and while he only got them to the doorstep in Cleveland he did help bring two titles to Boston after they hadn’t won since Babe Ruth played for the Red Sox. Also, I think Manny has played more meaningful games in his career because of the competition of the division and league he’s played in.

This sweet swing has lifted Manny to two World Series championships.

Whether it was the AL East or Central, Manny has had to go against teams like the always stacked New York Yankees or the hard playing Minnesota Twins. True, Manny has also played against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Baltimore Orioles in the East but Pujols has had the opportunity to beef up his stats against the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates who have been dreadful in what many would say is a weaker division.

Again it’s very close but if I had to call someone to the plate for a game winning at bat my choice would be Manny. Manny has never won the MVP award while Pujols has two in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Manny has a career average of .315 while Pujols’s average is at .336. Pulojs has been healthier as well. So the numbers favor Pujols but I question his numbers whether his numbers were against the best competition and I don’t with Manny. I know he’s played in the best rivalry and league in baseball over the years and crushed. I can question whether Pujols would have done the same. Despite recent news of Manny‘s drug suspension I’m sticking to my claim.