Pujols says his elbow surgery was successful

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols said Monday that the October surgery on his problematic right elbow was successful.

"I'm 100 percent healthy," Pujols said after signing autographs at the 13th annual Cardinals Winter Warm-Up at a downtown hotel. "With my elbow, obviously, there's some scar tissue there. I didn't do anything for two months as I was rehabbing. I don't feel any pain around my elbow. Everything is looking good."

Pujols began hitting in a cage just after Christmas and throwing earlier this month.

Pujols, who turned 29 on Thursday, hit .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing with the sore right elbow. Pujols won his second National League MVP award despite St. Louis' fourth-place finish in the NL Central.

Pujols avoided reconstructive elbow surgery. Instead, Cardinals team physician Dr. George Paletta performed what he described at the time as a "relatively minor surgical procedure" to relocate the ulnar nerve in Pujols' elbow.

Pujols opted for surgery after consulting with Paletta and specialist Dr. James Andrews, of Birmingham, Ala., after the season. In the last month of the season, Pujols experienced numbness and tingling in the ring finger and pinkie of his right hand, weakness of his grip and pain in the inside of his elbow and forearm.

The surgery, which took about 25 minutes, relieved compression and irritation of the nerve. Paletta said Pujols' elbow did not require reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament, which probably would have sidelined Pujols for all of spring training and possibly the first few weeks of next season.

Manager Tony La Russa said he marvels at what Pujols can do. In his first seven seasons, Pujols have averaged .334 and has hit 319 home runs and driven in 977 runs.

What should Pujols do for an encore in 2009?

"Just be Albert Pujols. He's a model of consistency," La Russa said. "He does everything the right way. He doesn't act like a big superstar. He's a great teammate and he helps the younger guys. I'm glad we got him."

Pujols is signed through the 2010 season with a club option for 2011. While the $100 million contract he signed in 2003 looked big then, it doesn't now.

That doesn't matter to Pujols.

"Ask me in 2011. I don't really care," Pujols said. "As of right now, I don't worry about. I'm getting ready for this year. I'm happy for everybody getting their money because I got mine in 2003. When I'm a free agent, we'll figure it out. I'm really happy with my contract."

For now, he is concentrating on the upcoming season.

"Hopefully, we'll have a good year and win the World Series," Pujols said. "That's why we play. I'll try to improve my numbers and help the team win. This is not an individual game."