Albert Pujols – is he worth it?

On Thursday, Albert Pujols signed a 10-year contract for $254 million with the Los Angeles Angels. Is he worth it? Looking at records, maybe he is, when it comes to getting hits. He has the best career batting average of any player active today, 33rd on the all-time list, at .3284. With 445 home runs, he is 37th on the all-time list with one season in the top 50, 2006, with 49 home runs (tied for 43rd place). Find more baseball statistics at iWeblists.

World Series Game 7

Tonight will be the first time the World Series had a game 7 since 2002 when the Anaheim Angels beat the San Francisco Giants four games to three (4-3). In the last 10 years, including 2011, there have been seven games twice, six games twice, five games three times and a sweep of four games three times.

For more on World Series history, view iWeblists‘ History of World Series Games.

Apple surpasses WalMart in Market Capitalization

Today Apple become the third largest US company in market capitalization, after Exxon Mobil and Microsoft, surpassing WalMart. Much of this is due to hype about the iPad, as well as mention today that a new iPhone will be coming out soon on Verizon’s network.

A year ago, Apple had the 14th largest US Market Cap at $94 billion. Today Apple is 3rd, with $214 billion.

Here is a list of the 50 largest American companies by market capitalization.

Here is a list of the 50 largest companies on March 31st, 2009.

Chris Johnson – 2,000 Yards Rushing in a Season

This past weekend, Chris Johnson, of the Tennessee Titans, became the sixth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He finished the season with 2,006 rushing yards. He joins Eric Dickerson, the record holder with 2,105 yards in 1984, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis and, do you remember, OJ Simpson? He rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973.

Here’s a list of the top 50 NFL Season Rushing Yards records.

Supreme Court Religions

The Supreme Court formally begins its session on October 5th. Due to a special session, Justice Sonia Sotomayor has already taken her place as the 112th Supreme Court Justice. Of the nine Justices, six are Catholic, two are Jewish and one is Protestant. In fact, the Protestant Justice, John Paul Stevens, is also the oldest, and is rumored to be ready to step down, so it’s possible a year from now the Supreme Court could consist of only Catholic and Jewish Justices.

For a list of Supreme Court Justices through history and more, visit the iWeblists website.

Longest Serving Senators

With the death of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, it’s interesting to note that he was the third longest serving senator. It’s also interesting to note that the two serving longer are both recent senators, one still serving.

Robert Byrd of West Virginia is still serving. He joined the senate in 1959 and has been serving for over 50 years.

Strom Thurmond of South Carolina served in the senate for almost 47 1/2 years, serving until January, 2003. He was 100 years old when he retired. He died later that year.

Ted Kennedy became a senator in 1962 and had been a senator for just under 47 years.

Here are more facts about the current senate, including each senator’s first year in office.

Longest Running Broadway Shows

The longest running Broadway show is still running: The Phantom of the Opera has been running since January 26, 1988 and has produced an incredible 9,003 shows. The second longest running show is Cats, at 7485 shows.

In addition to The Phantom of the Opera, playing at the Majestic Theatre, there are five other shows still playing that are in the top 50:

• Chicago is #7 with 5332 shows
• The Lion King is #9 with 4917 shows
• Mamma Mia! is #13 with 3280 shows
• Wicked is #22 with 2438 shows
• Jersey Boys is #43 with 1595 shows

Jersey Boys will move up the list quickly, since it’s less than 300 shows away from #32.

Here’s a list of the longest running Broadway shows, and here’s a list of currently running Broadway shows.

Market Capitalization

So which US companies are worth the most?

Exxon Mobil (XOM) has held the title for a long time. As of today’s stock market close, Exxon Mobil is worth $326 billion. At a distant second place is WalMart (WMT) at $190 billion, followed by Microsoft (MSFT) at $181 billion. Then we drop to $149 billion for AT&T (T) and Proctor & Gamble (PG) rounds out the top 5 at $146 billion.

The list doesn’t change very much. For example, at the end of October, 2008, near the beginning of the recent crash, four of the top five remained the same. Exxon Mobil was first, followed by WalMart, Microsoft and Proctor & Gamble. GE was 5th, and AT&T was 7th. GE has dropped due to its exposure to the banking industry. GE is now 9th.

Here’s a daily-updated list of the Market Capitalization of the top 50 US companies.

Gary Sheffield’s 500th Home Run

Gary Sheffield just hit his 500th career Home Run. He holds the 25th place among career home run hitters.

Barry Bonds is first with 762, followed by Hank Aaron at 755 and Babe Ruth at 714. Willie Mays is 4th with 660, and Ken Griffey is 5th with 613.

Here’s a link to the career home run leaders and here are more baseball records.

Longest-Serving Senators

I read frequently that Ted Stevens had been the longest continuously serving Republican Senator in history. So for now, who is the oldest and longest running of each party?

Stevens served from 12/24/68 to 1/3/09, for a total of just over 40 years.

At this point, there are three Democratic Senators that have served longer than that. Robert Byrd of West Virginia has served longest, since 1959. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts has served since 1962 and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has served since 1963. The longest-serving Republican Senator currently in office is Dick Lugar from Indiana, who has served since 1977.

The oldest Senator is Robert Byrd, born in 1917, over 90 years old. The oldest Republican is the fifth oldest Senator. That’s Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, born in 1930.

Here’s a link to more information about the current Senate. And here’s a link for other useful lists on a variety of topics.