Cardinals Parade Brings Massive Crowd, Questions About Albert Pujols

The St. Louis Cardinals celebrated their 11th World Series title on Sunday with a parade through downtown in front of a massive swarm of people. With a crowd reportedly in the hundreds of thousands looking on, the Cardinals took a final curtain call to cap an amazing 2011 season.

In the midst of all the celebrating, St. Louis fans wondered what was next for Albert Pujols. The Cardinals star is a free agent this offseason, and may take his talents elsewhere. There’s no reason to think this quote will be read into at all, is there?

Pujols drew loud cheers along the parade route and a long standing ovation at the stadium. When asked on the podium if he’d like to be back for another celebration next season, he smiled sheepishly and said, “Hey, why not?”

In reality, this probably wasn’t the time to ask Pujols about next year. Caught up in the emotion of the past week, there was no way Pujols would be able to give an honest answer. And a three-word question is far from committal.

But hey, it’s good to dream and hope. There’s still a definite chance Pujols could return to St. Louis next season, but nobody -- perhaps not even Pujols -- knows how the offseason will play out..

For now, the Cardinals will celebrate and soak in their 2011 World Series title. And what a season it was in St. Louis.