Albert Pujols’ name is in the history books, alongside Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.
The Cardinals slugger homered twice against the host Dodgers in Friday night’s 11-0 win for the 699th and 700th long-balls of his illustrious 22-season MLB career.
Pujols joined Ruth (714), Aaron (755) Barry Bonds (762) in the ultra-exclusive club.
“Don’t get me wrong, I know where my places stand in this game, but since Day One when I made my debut, I was never about numbers, never about chasing numbers,” Pujols said after the win. “It was always about winning championships and tried to get better in these games.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gladly gushed about Pujols’ accomplishment.
“This is like the Mount Rushmore of sluggers, so to reach that 700-home run mark, it’s remarkable,” Roberts said.
A man wearing a blue Dodgers shirt with Hideo Nomo’s No. 16 on the back snagged the 700th homer ball. He was whisked under the stands as he clutched a black glove containing the historic souvenir ball to his chest. Prolonged negotiations went on before the man was escorted out of Dodger Stadium flanked by 10 security personnel and into a waiting SUV.
Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals watches career home run No. 699 leave the field. Getty Images“Souvenirs are for the fans,” Pujols said. “I don’t have any problem if they want to keep it. That’s why the fans come here, to have a special moment of history.”
In the top of the third inning, the 42-year-old sent a pitch from Los Angeles’ Andrew Heaney 434 feet into the stands for a 2-0 Cardinals lead and his 20th homer of the season.
A 37-year-old Los Angeles man, Cesar Soriano, snagged No. 699. He turned the ball over to security after being told he could meet Pujols.
The wait for No. 700 didn’t take long.
Pujols’ milestone home came one inning later, a three-run shot off reliever Phil Bickford for a 5-0 St. Louis lead.
He now has 18 20-homer seasons, behind only Aaron (20) and Bonds (19) in MLB history, with Bonds the only other player to have hit 20 homers after the age of 42. He and Aaron are the only two players to have achieved 3,000 hits and 700 homers.
Pujols took extra pleasure in making his mark at Dodger Stadium, where he said he regained his joy for the game while with Los Angeles last season.
“It’s pretty special, especially with the Dodgers fans, to do it here,” Pujols said. “And, you get to see both sides, they get to enjoy this and to do it in a Cardinals uniform is really special.”
The 42-year-old has experienced a statistical renaissance in the second half of the season, slashing .313/.377/.657 with 13 homers, 33 RBIs and a 1.034 OPS in his last 47 games, and plans to retire at season’s end.
“It’s just being out there and contributing to this ballclub and this organization,” Pujols said after hitting No. 698 against the Reds in Sept. 17. “I think just getting every opportunity that I’ve been getting, especially lately, and just trying to help this ballclub to win.”
With 11 games to play, Pujols is likely to add a few more homers to his Hall of Fame career.
Pujols’ home run touch also affected one of his teammates.
He was due up for a fifth time in the eighth inning, but the Cardinals pinch-hit with rookie Alec Burleson, who was 2 years, 4 months old when Pujols made his major league debut on April 2, 2001.
With the score already 10-0, Burleson promptly hit his first major league homer, a blast to right field off infielder Hanser Alberto, who was relieving for the ninth time this season for the Dodgers.
— with AP
