Albert Pujols smashed his 695th career home run on Sunday and edged closer to the 700 HR landmark in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2-0 win.
Albert Pujols : 695 Home run | Close to 700 home run
Pujols was, at the height of his career, a highly regarded hitter who showed a “combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power.”
| MLB debut | |
|---|---|
| April 2, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics (through September 4, 2022) |
|
| Batting average | .296 |
| Hits | 3,364 |
| Home runs | 695 |
| Runs batted in | 2,193 |
He is a six-time Silver Slugger who has twice led the NL in home runs, and he has also led the NL once each in batting average, doubles, and RBIs.
With 14 seasons of 100 or more RBIs, he is one of only five players in MLB history to have topped 2,000 RBIs in his career, surpassing Alex Rodriguez for third place on the official all-time list during the 2020 season.
In 2018, Pujols collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 32nd player in MLB history to reach that milestone.
Pujols also became the fourth player to amass 3,000 hits and 600 home runs, joining Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Alex Rodriguez.
As of 2022, he is the oldest active MLB player and considered a lock for the Hall of Fame.
695 home run
Albert Pujols smashed his 695th career home run on Sunday and edged closer to the 700 HR landmark in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2-0 win against the Chicago Cubs.
He is now just one home run shy of tying Alex Rodriguez for the fourth-most of all time.
The 42-year-old reached the mark with a pinch-hit two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the win and also extended his all-time record of homering off 451 pitchers.
“As I was in the cage, [the commentator] said something [on the radio broadcast] like, ‘It’d be amazing if Albert comes up and hits his last home run against the Cubs.’ It happened,” Pujols said after the game.
“That’s why I was smiling when I hit first base all the way until the home play because that was the last thing playing in my mind. I just couldn’t believe it happened.”
As he plans to retire at the end of the season, it was likely Pujols’ last game against the Cubs — a team he has historically dominated, hitting 59 home runs, 99 extra-base hits and getting 149 RBIs in 199 career games against them.
The three-time league MVP has been in resurgent form since the All-Star break in August, hitting .373 with 10 homers in 83 at bats.
Close to 700 home runs
Albert Pujols is one of the greatest hitters of all time, a terrifying force at the plate who racked up three MVP awards and two World Series titles.
Pujols is five home runs away from becoming just the fourth member of the 700-HR club, joining Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.
It’s been something of a late-career renaissance for Pujols — his return to the St. Louis Cardinals for what he says is his final season has sparked his best offensive year in over a decade.
He’s hitting .272/.348/.526, and he has slugged 16 home runs in a mere 84 games.
If he decided to play for one more season, there’s a good chance he’d even be able to pass Ruth for third on the all-time homer list.
Next games:
- Mon., 4:15 p.m. ET vs. WAS (facing Anibal Sanchez)
- Tues, 7:45 p.m. ET vs. WAS (facing Paolo Espino)
- Wed., 7:45 p.m. ET vs. WAS (facing Cory Abbott)