As the 2017 Major League Baseball season is in its infant stage, it is clear that Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols is no longer the player that he once was. Pujols is 37-years of age and through 14 games he is batting .204 with a pair of home runs and 11 runs batted in. And as Pujols is in the twilight of his career being that he is no longer an MVP candidate, or in the running to hit .300, it is not stopping him from closing in on making some history.
With 593 career home runs, Pujols is closing in on becoming just the ninth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 600 career home runs and only the second Dominican-born player to do so. Pujols has 603 career doubles and by season’s end he could be in the top ten of that category. Pujols is currently 19th all-time in runs batted in with 1,928 as he is 4 away from surpassing Manny Ramirez for 18th place. And just like it is in regards to doubles, Pujols could be in the top ten of runs batted in by the end of the season. With 2,836 career hits, Pujols could flirt with reaching that magical milestone of 3,000 hits. But if and when Pujols is able reach 3,000 hits and 600 home runs, he would join Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, and Willie Mays as the only players in MLB history to do so.
When you think of Pujols one of the first words that comes to mind is fear. Ever since Pujols made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, he has done nothing but strike fear into the hearts of opponents. Pujols won the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2001 as he batted .329 with 37 homers and 130 runs batted in. Pujols followed that up by winning three NL MVP Awards while donning a Cardinals uniform, along with leading the league in homers twice, taking home a batting title, and we cannot overlook him helping St. Louis win a pair of World Series Championships. In each of Pujols’ first ten Major League Baseball seasons he hit at least 32 home runs runs and driving 103 home runs as when he reaches the 600-homer mark later this season, he’ll join Aaron as the only two men to reach the mark, but never hit 50 home runs in a season which has made him the model of consistency in the modern game.
Pujols has not hit too many home runs of the cheap variety as they are typically of the tape measure variety. Some of Pujols classic moments at the plate include his massive shot off of Houston Astros relief pitcher Brad Lidge during the 2005 National League Championship Series, and his three homer performance in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series as he became the first player since Reggie Jackson in 1977 to do so. However Pujols has not been your prototypical power hitter being that he has never struck out 100 times or more in a season, while he is also a career .309 hitter.
Pujols’ time with the Angels have seen his production dip which includes him no longer being an everyday first baseman as injuries to his feet have slowed him down. But that hasn’t prevented Pujols from passing his professionalism and knowledge of the game to Angels outfielder Mike Trout who himself is already a two-time American League MVP and at the age of 25 is already being compared to baseball greats such as Mickey Mantle.
However for Pujols, he is capping off stellar resume that will see him one day enshrined in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Currently Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez are the only Dominican-born players that are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but that will be changing in the coming years with the likes of Vladimir Guerrero and David Ortiz on the cusp of it, and Mr. Pujols isn’t that far behind them.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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