"In the distance, Dee Dee Pujols could hear a new baseball family cheering for her husband. There were 4,200 worshippers in Angels jerseys chanting Albert Pujols' name in the same passionate manner they once did in St. Louis. It was the same sort of overwhelming love Cardinal Nation had poured out to her husband for 11 incredible years full of Hall of Fame highlights, MVP seasons and stunning World Series memories. It was the same sort of love that she'd seen for most of her adult life in their adopted hometown, the sort of love they always believed was unconditional, yet now were sadly realizing may have come with some strings attached.

There are some people back home who are burning her husband's jersey as if he were a traitor. There are others who are calling him hateful names as if he spurned them with the same tone-deaf insensitivity LeBron James made infamous with his awkward departure from Cleveland to South Beach. But mostly there are multitudes back home who just want to know how this all happened, how the best player of his generation, an iconic St. Louis baseball treasure is wearing a halo on his chest instead of the birds on the bat.

"We realize there is a lot of hurt, and we experienced the same thing," she said. "Hopefully the people one day will be sensitive to the decision that had to be made. You can't really ever explain to people in full measure what happened here."

On Saturday afternoon, as Albert Pujols was being introduced to the City of Angels as their newest athletic superstar, Dee Dee Pujols and her husband took the time to attempt to explain why they left St. Louis after 11 amazing seasons.

In the end, it is not all that complicated.

The Cardinals kept talking business. The Angels kept talking family.

The Cardinals wanted a short-term employee. The Angels were seeking a long-term partner in the family business."