Pujols Joins the 700 Club!!

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Albert Pujols in the 1999 MLB Draft and he was selected in the 13th round. He debuted in 2001 and in that year he won Rookie of the Year, made the All-Star team, along with finish 4th in National League MVP voting at age 21. In 11 seasons with the Cardinals, he won three MVP awards and two World Series titles. In those 11 seasons he led the league in WAR five times, runs five times, OPS three times, slugging percentage three times, total bases four times, home runs twice, and once in hits, doubles, RBIs, average, on-base percentage. 

In 2011 Pujols signed a historic 10-year, $253 million contract, with the Los Angeles Angels. In his time with the Angels he hit 222 home runs, 783 RBIs, and a .758 OPS in 1,181 games suiting up for the Halos. He did collect his 500th and 600th home runs with the Angels, as well as his 3000th hit. When his contract was up the Angles released him on May 13, 2021. Then on Monday 17, 2021, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him to a one-year contract. When that contract ended Albert Pujols began to explore his options. Then, the Cardinals put a smile on every baseball fan’s face. They re-signed Albert Pujols after almost 12 years away from the team, to a one-year contract. Albert Pujols announced that he was retiring at the end of this season. 

This was Pujol’s curtain call season and he was chasing 700 home runs. Everyone in the baseball world wanted Pujols to reach the fabled number. His performance in the first half of the season raised some doubts if he was going to do it. In August, Pujols made a comeback launching 8 home runs and he was inching closer. On September 11, 2022, he passed Alex Rodriguez on the all-time home runs list with 697 homers and left behind Rodriguez with 696. 

On September 23, 2022, Albert “The Machine” Pujols made history. In the third inning against the Dodgers, pitcher Andrew Heaney threw Pujols a two-strike fastball right down the middle and Pujols launched it 434 feet into left-center field for home run number 699. Pujols got another at-bat in the fourth inning and Phil Bickford, Dodgers pitcher, hung a slider to The Machine and he sent it 389 feet for home run 700. He became one of only four baseball legends in the 700 club with Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron. 

Albert Pujols without a doubt has had a Hall of Fame career and launching 700 homers has made his career legendary. He has been crushing home runs since 2001. He has rounded the bases 700 times which equals 252,000 feet. The Machine will now be forever etched in history and nobody deserves it more.