Albert Pujols and Mike Trout: 1st playoff trip for Angels’ dynamic duo

Albert Pujols is a three-time most valuable player. Mike Trout should win his first MVP award this year. For the first time, the Angels’ dynamic duo will play together in the postseason.

When Angels owner Arte Moreno lavished $250 million on Pujols before the 2012 season, the mission was to return to October. In his 10 years with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols made the playoffs seven times.

In his first two years with the Angels, he did not make the playoffs, but the Cardinals did. In his third year in Anaheim, Pujols is finally back in October.

“It never gets tired,” he said. “In St. Louis, we popped champagne about every year. There are guys who play this game 15 or 20 years who never get to pop a bottle of champagne.

“For me, it’s a blessing. It’s been three years. Sometimes, it’s good to wait. It will be more special.”

Pujols said he was delighted for the Angels’ young players getting their first taste of October -- and particularly for Trout, whom he has taken care to mentor.

“Trout is a special player,” Pujols said. “Players like him don’t come often, maybe once every 30 or 40 years. This city is blessed to see a young player like Trout.

“Hopefully, he’s the MVP this year.”

Pujols laughed at the suggestion that the postseason stage would allow the country to see Trout’s greatness.

“I think the country knows about Trout right now,” Pujols said, “and how special he can be.”

However, Pujols said he would take Trout aside and advise him about the postseason glare to make sure nothing interferes with the younger player’s preparation.

“The game doesn’t change because you see more cameras,” Pujols said.

Trout was giddy in the celebration.

“I can’t explain the feeling of running around the field -- this crowd, these fans, this team,” he said. “I love ‘em.”

He has performed at MVP levels in his first two full seasons, but his candidacy for the award was hurt to some degree by the Angels’ failure to make the playoffs. Trout was quick to identify the difference between the Angels teams of the last two years and this playoff team.

“We got a bullpen,” he said. “We score some runs, and we can lock it down. The offense is unbelievable.”

Pujols said he would do his best to remind the young players there is more work to be done, even as he watched them circle the field merrily around him.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Pujols said. “It’s a great feeling. It’s a better feeling when you hold the trophy at the end. That’s what we’re working for.”

The Angels made the playoffs in five of the first six full seasons under Moreno. This playoff berth ends a four-year postseason drought.

The Angels won their only World Series under Disney ownership, in 2002, the year before Moreno bought the team.

As a result, Moreno tempered his answer to the question of how special this division championship was.

“I’ll tell you in about a month,” Moreno said. “We’ve got a lot of baseball left to play.”