In 159 games, Pujols batted .312 sixth with 183 hits fifth and 39 doubles; he led the league in runs scored,home runs and RBI . He won his second Gold Glove Award for first base, and he won the NL First Base Silver Slugger Award for the sixth time. He finished second in the NL MVP voting to Joey Votto, who said he was "shocked" that Pujols only got one first-place vote.
Pujols and the Cardinals set a deadline for the start of 2011 spring training for contract extension negotiations but failed to reach an agreement. After Pujols struggled in his first 30 games of the season in batting .231, he batted .316 with 30 home runs in his final 117 games. Against the Cubs, he hit consecutive extra-inning walk-off home runs on June 4 and 5 for the first time since Albert Belle in 1995. Carpenter noted after the game that Pujols' slump earlier in the year was over: "He continues to do great things, there's no doubt about it," he said. "The things that he's done the last few days have been just like the old Albert."
On June 19 against the Royals, Wilson Betemit collided with Pujols, inducing a small fracture his left wrist and keeping him inactive until July 5. On July 30, in a 9–2 victory over the Cubs, he got his 2,000th career hit against Carlos Mármol, becoming the fifth Cardinal to reach 2,000 hits and 12th -fastest major leaguer by games to reach the milestone. In the Cardinals' final game of the season, against the Astros on September 28, he had the game -winning RBI against Brett Myers in the 8 - 0 victory, helping the Cardinals overcome a 10.5-game deficit to Atlanta to win the Wild Card. Pujols finished the season with 173 hits , 29 doubles , and 105 runs scored . He saw his streak of seasons batting at least .300 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI snapped when he hit 37 home runs , but batted .299 with 99 RBI; however, only three other players in the major leagues matched him in those categories , causing Tyler Kepner of The New York Times to write, "Even when Pujols struggles, he excels." He was fifth in MVP voting.
| year | at bats | hits | home runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 590 | 194 | 37 |
| 2002 | 590 | 185 | 34 |
| 2003 | 591 | 212 | 43 |
| 2004 | 592 | 196 | 46 |
| 2005 | 591 | 195 | 41 |
| 2006 | 535 | 177 | 49 |
| 2007 | 565 | 185 | 32 |
| 2008 | 524 | 187 | 37 |
| 2009 | 568 | 186 | 47 |
| 2010 | 587 | 183 | 42 |