We'll never see another Albert Pujols
Jose Alberto Pujols joined a special kind of history on Friday night.
Dad and I were heading home, tired yet aware enough to turn the radio on.
Late night west coast starts can throw a fan off. Coupled with the unusual but not-going-away Apple TV Plus game broadcasts, the resonance of Sept. 23, 2022 didn’t exactly roll into the evening like the cooler air. Then again, it was hard to forget what could happen.
Albert Pujols entered Friday’s game with 698 home runs; he exited with 700 and a new club member card on the way. It’s the same one that belongs to Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth; Major League Baseball players who hit 700 or more home runs in their career.
Pujols joined the party last night. Now, the race is on to see how many he will end up with. With a couple more games in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, and a series at homer-happy American Family Field in Milwaukee approaching, the bargain slugger (Pujols’s salary is $2.5 million) could end up closer to 710 if he goes on a long-ball binge.
We shall see. The beauty of baseball and sports in general is that no one knows shit. We’re all just watching and waiting. After a few games of homerless activity, Pujols just erupted for two last night. A day after Brendan Donovan rescued the team with a grand slam, Pujols activated another sector of history with a couple swings of the bat.
The fact that he did it in such an historical baseball field is icing on the cake. If it wasn’t going to be Busch, Dodger Stadium is a fine backup. In 476 at-bats since being acquired by the Dodgers last summer, Pujols has now launched 38 home runs. A late career surge that rights a once-powerful ship. If he was still playing for the Angels, this wouldn’t have happened. No way.
A tip of the cap to the Dodgers for bringing Pujols back to the land of the living, and for MLB in finally making the designated hitter position universal. Isn’t this fun? Not happening without the DH becoming a National League thing.
A tip of the cap to Bill DeWitt Jr. and John Mozeliak for putting the foot forward to acquire Pujols earlier this year, restarting a troublesome beginning-thanks to the lockout that rushed this season along. But the big swings and second half terror Pujols has been on erased any bitterness left over from the spring, like a great meal would do to a bad week.
Baseball’s meat and potatoes appeal is the longevity of the season, and how the heroes often get a chance to come back and rewrite an ending that wasn’t looking good. For a few years, Pujols was only known as the hibernating legend who owned the worst contract in baseball. Now, he’s the fella who owns 700 homers.
I could go on and on about this guy, but we have time for that later. Eventually, this baseball gunslinger is holding to holster his weapon. For now, I will just say it was a thunderous debut when I saw him play nearly 81 times a year from 2002-2005 while I worked from my perch on the manual scoreboard. After hearing the thunder he brought last night, his legend has been cemented… for a second time.
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports