There is probably not a single Dominican who does not know that Albert Pujols, the 42-year old slugger who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals, is now a member of the most exclusive club in Major League Baseball— the 700 home run club. In one of the last days of the season, his 22nd in MLB, Pujols entered the game just two home runs shy of that magic 700 mark in the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Righthander Phill Bickford was the last of the 455 pitchers who served up the big pitch to Pujols.
Only three other players have ever reached that level: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.
Pujols hit two home runs in that game in Los Angeles, California on 24 September 2022 to join the club and assure his already highly likely entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Pujols and Aaron are the only two who did this feat and also had over 3,000 hits, another Hall of Fame guarantee. Aaron, Bonds and now Pujols are the only players to have at least 18 seasons of more than 20 home runs.
Pujols was a little-known ballplayer when he was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the draft. He played his first 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 3 MVP awards and two World Series. As a free agent, he signed a US$254 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, where he hit another 222 home runs before being released by the Angels and picked up as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last part of the 2021 season.
During the Dominican Winter Baseball Season, Pujols played at least one game in every stadium as a sort of salute to Dominican fans who gave him thunderous applause wherever he appeared.
Apparently finding renewed joy and youth when signed again by St. Louis where he got his start in the MLB, Pujols has produced the best on base percentage and plugging percentage since his first years with the Angels in 2012. And now, The Machine, as he is known, goes into the post-season.
Listin Diario shares the story of how a boy raised by his grandmother in the slum area of Cristo Rey in the National District made it to Major League Baseball. Pujols was born in 1980 and migrated with his parents to the USA in 1993. He was drafted into US professional baseball in 1999 and signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, becoming the year’s rookie.
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Listin Diario
Diario Libre
NPR
MLB
MLB
26 September 2022