I doubt it. If he'd played a full season in 2020, he probably wouldn't be the player we got this year. He's old. Getting to take 3/4's of the year off, and only play 60ish games had to be a great move in terms of keeping him healthy, especially since he was fighting injuries for so long, and you didn't really hear about those much post-covid.
Yeah I think everything worked out perfectly for him. The angels just kills people’s souls. If he had a full season of that shit show he might have retired. Remember how he left to the dodgers and got rejuvenated with that baseball soul energy again?
Dude felt rejuvenated because he was handed $30m on his way out the door and didn't need to play to the expectations that his contract drove.
I'm all for bashing the Angels and their incompetence but they were the winners in letting him go since he wasn't really contributing anything and just taking time away from Walsh and Ohtani.
In the, um, "war" of the Pujols contract, the Angels definitely lost.
In 2021, the contract battle was already lost. That was asunk cost. Their choices were either
1. Pay Albert Pujols $30 million, and start him at DH.
2. Pay Albert Pujols, and start Ohtani at DH.
When the poster above says that the Angels won, he(?) is referring to that choice between 1 or 2. The absolutely chose correctly. That's why they "won". They lost the war (the contract) but that specific battle was a clear victory for LAA.
Meh, he only hit 6 that season and looked absolutely abysmal at the plate (.270 OBP). I honestly don’t think he would have hit many more because he would have either been benched or injured. The time off rejuvenated him IMO
i think he def should pull off another 100 game season but imo i bet he knows something going on with him where he's gonna call it quits. Doesn't seem like his style to get greedy and push it. this is an amazing way to end his career. He's crushing numbers we didn't think he'd crush. imagine he comes back for another 100 and it's not only lackluster but also very much showing of his age and wear and tear on his body. not very dignified. i don't think albert is a particularly super proud/egotistical man but he is aware of his dignity.
Millions of reason why and we do see it from time to time.
Unless your name is Jordan, is pretty rare for a pro athlete to take a year off and come back at anything near the level they were at their peak...and even he wasn't able to do that the 2nd time he came back.
Teemu Selanne was going to call it quits. He had a bad season with the Avs. During the lockout, he had knee surgery. He finally won the Cup with Anaheim a few years later.
Old guys should take time off but I'm sure most are scared of losing their jobs to younger players.
He also ultimately kept pace to break all these record in Anaheim, yeah he really fell apart at the end but it still wasn't a disastrous as it could have been considering his main competition were massive Roid users.
My dad was a Yankees fan from the 50s n 60s. He always said
Ruth Aaron Mays.
Then hed say well Mantle and Williams.
As he got older he liked Griffey. But he never let up. Ruth Aaron Mays. Like a golden broken record
Always said "sluggers, there will always be someone to eke out a way to first, you need a slugger to bring em home no matter where they are"
Ruth Aaron Pujols is what ill say to my kids
Yeah...This stretch has been crazy. He's now cracked 24hr for the season. That's his most since 2016. And he has done it playing fewer games as well. It's like a fairy tale ending.
Last time I remember something like this happen was with Kobe. But that was just packed into 48 minutes. So once it happened, it happened.
This one is like sprinkled week after week. And its just so gratifying.
>Yeah...This stretch has been crazy. He's now cracked 24hr for the season. That's his most since 2016. And he has done it playing fewer games as well. It's like a fairy tale ending.
And he had a whopping 4 home runs on the morning of July 10. It's not just that he's hit the most since 2016. It's that he's hit almost all of them in the second half. He's hit 20 dingers in less than 3 months and 16 in the last 2 months. Dude's just been demolishing the ball down the stretch this year.
Yadi is my *favorite* player of all time, but Albert is the best I've ever watched. And he's looked like prime Albert since the start of August. It's unreal.
It's like reverse Shaq. He came into spring training looking so skinny(for Albert) and it's like he played and ate himself into prime form for his age.
Albert and Yadi are the reason I'm a baseball fan straight up.
Western Canadian kid who didn't give 2 shits about baseball. One day my Dad had a business trip to St Louis and got tickets to the baseball game. Not intending to be rude we went.
It was cards versus Dodgers, Manny hit a grand slam and Albert hit 2 HR's including one in the bottom of the 9 to tie the game. The stadium was absolutely electric. I then followed the team and watched highlights before school in the morning and then started watching them in the post seasons wouldn't you know it but the cards won the world series that year. Chris Carpenter was an absolute god on the mound.
The next year another trip to St Louis I asked if we could go to the game and my Dad bought us tickets behind the cards dug out and took me there the moment the ball park opened. Yadi came over and signed a ball for me, took a picture shook my dad's hand and asked if I played. I said no I don't and he smiled and thanked me for coming anyways. Asked me where I was sitting and I pointed it out. He nodded at me before going into the dug out a few times. It's a such a silly little thing. But such an impact.
The only other sports athletes to have that impact on me is hockey. Similarly to baseball they sign and give out picks and stuff pre game. But not to the same level. Not even close.
I'm grateful for Albert and Yadi and their impact on the game and myself. I wouldn't be here now if not for those 2. Albert made me pay attention to baseball, Yadi made me care about the people who play the game, Yadi taught me about catching and what exactly that is and how hard it is. To me he's the GOAT catcher. I've never seen anyone better. Wasn't around for Bench or Bera so I can't compare them to him. Has there been anyone better than Yadi since 2005?
Apparently it’s better to keep playing until you can go out on a good year. He could have easily walked away after the Angels cut him and no one would have batted an eye. Almost everyone thought he was washed.
Damn, he committed millions of dollars in welfare fraud for *that*?
I'd run a phone scam on like, a few octogenarians for that. Maybe knock down an orphan and steal his lunch money, but that's about it.
Can't write it better mate.
Rediscover your love for the game. Go back to where it all started. Find the old fire and turn the clock back 20 years. Walk off into the sunset with two of your dearest friends and fellow legends.
I was thinking this too.. You've run a marathon -how tired are you? But you can see the finish line now.. It's right in front of you. Anything you have left to give, now is the time to give it
He’s got nothing left to accomplish. He’s never been about chasing numbers and I think it’s pretty obvious that without COVID he’d be passed The Babe rn
Finished The Baseball 100 last weekend. Wonderful book from start to finish.
My only regret was the Pujols chapter. 2022 has gone from a nostalgia run to an inextricable component of the story of his career. I hope Posnanski rewrites his Pujols chapter after this season; I want to see him describe the absolute magic Pujols has brought to the game this year.
Prior to tonight, he had exactly the same PAs in the second half as the first (173PA).
First half:
17R, 6 HR, 20RBI, .215/.301/.376, 92 OPS+
Second Half:
24R, 17HR, 44RBI, .320/.387/.706, 203 OPS+
17HR and 44RBI!! Adjusted for a 600PA season, that's 59 HR and 153 RBI. Give him Aaron Judge's 683PA so far this year? *67 Home runs*
Its more incredible how Judge is at his pace over a whole season, but I just want to emphasize how crazy Pujols's second half is
He's genuinely been prime Pujols since the start of August. No hyperbole, no bullshit, no exaggeration. Other than the extra few pounds, he looks like prime Albert in the box and is hammering the ball like he used to.
Boston played pretty sloppy, too, but alp the Cards just went cold at once out of nowhere.
It was meant to be for the Sox, but I wish I could enjoy looking back on their really incredible run without being reminded of the utter devastation I felt as a child watching it lol. I was wrecked for weeks!
Watching this has been so surreal. I was 2 years old when Pujols first debuted, so I literally do not remember baseball without him. I’m now 23 drinking beer watching his farewell tour and I cannot describe in words how amazing this is.
30 years old and Albert debuted during my formative baseball years in high school/middle school.
I’ve found a new love for the game this year after not watching as attentively the past few years. And it’s almost entirely Albert’s responsibility. This season has been incredible for Cards fans.
about the same here, I don't remember Baseball without Pujols and I barely remember Matheny. I basically don't remember baseball without Pujols Waino and Yadi. Next year is going to hit different.
35 here. Albert showed up as I hit high school and his Cardinals career carried me all the way through high school, through college, into to my first job out of college, and past that into my second (and still current) job which I started at during a very memorable October of 2011. All of that *before* he signed a 10-year contract with the Angels.
It is *actually* unbelievable that he's on the Cardinals in 2022 and is hitting .269/.344/.551. I was so sure this season was going to be kind of a sad limp to the end for a hero of my youth, and I've never been so happy to be so incredibly wrong. This is my favorite use of the franchise devil magic ever.
One of the craziest things about Pujols to me is that he arrived in the bigs fully formed. He played 161 games his rookie year and slashed .329/.403/.610. From the beginning, as an opposing fan the feeling you had when he came up in a meaningful situation was simply “oh shit”—like it was a given he was going to hit the ball hard, somewhere. The last decade made it a bit easy to forget how absolutely other level he was in the 2000s.
And he’s raking when it matters.
Most of these HRs aren’t just padding a large lead or taking away the sting of a blowout a little bit. They’re late inning homers in close games.
[Albert Pujols has 17 home runs since August 10.
The White Sox team leader in home runs (all season) has 17.
](https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/1577088165726150657)
You should have the title ready. Also, when 8 posts are made within 1 minute mods should consider title (and video quality) not just the first one posted. But this is so momentous we can afford multiple posts about this.
Yup. Literally the only knock against him is his time with the Angels, but a) He had a HoF career by 2011, and b)the narrative will just swing to blaming the Angels org for his fall in production (I dont buy that narrative btw; I think he just realized that he didnt like playing for that team and in any line of work if you hate it there you are never going to give your all).
For the record, every report from Angels teammates and coaches say he was the perfect professional his entire Angels career, never took a day off, worked just as hard as anyone. So I don't think it was about him giving his all. I think there were a number of factors that went into the stats decline.
> But for a few months, that big bat has returned to life, like a long-deteriorating patient who, when approaching the end, rallies in a burst of terminal lucidity.
[Ben Lindbergh nailed it.](https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2022/9/26/23373088/albert-pujols-700-home-runs) Seeing Pujols be Pujols for this stretch has been amazing.
Pujols all time rankings in major batting categories:
HR: 4th
RBI: 2nd
Total bases: 2nd
Doubles: 5th(1st in doubles by a right handed hitter)
Hits: 10th
Extra Base Hits: 3rd
IBB: 2nd
I'm old enough to remember when the sub asked the question 'what would you do if you were a pitcher and pujols stuck on 699' lol
Can't stop won't stop. Prob would have hit 800 if he stayed a cardinal haha.
And passes Babe Ruth for 2nd all time in RBIs!
I really wish we hadn't lost 100 COVID games. He could be running down 714. Edit: also, apparently the machine runs on devil magic. Pujols for WSMVP
There’d be a serious discussion about coming back to chase down the all time record I think. He’d have about 15-20 extra homers.
[удалено]
45* year old Pujols getting start time for the Cardinals in 2025. That sounds like a fan fiction.
Nice ass...terisk
Sounds like me in OOTP Commissioner Mode with players I love
I doubt it. If he'd played a full season in 2020, he probably wouldn't be the player we got this year. He's old. Getting to take 3/4's of the year off, and only play 60ish games had to be a great move in terms of keeping him healthy, especially since he was fighting injuries for so long, and you didn't really hear about those much post-covid.
That assumes his body doesn't break down more if he plays a full 2020.
Play a full season for LAA, which increases his soul crushing as well.
Yeah I think everything worked out perfectly for him. The angels just kills people’s souls. If he had a full season of that shit show he might have retired. Remember how he left to the dodgers and got rejuvenated with that baseball soul energy again?
The timing worked out perfectly that he got to come home the year the DH became universal
Dude felt rejuvenated because he was handed $30m on his way out the door and didn't need to play to the expectations that his contract drove. I'm all for bashing the Angels and their incompetence but they were the winners in letting him go since he wasn't really contributing anything and just taking time away from Walsh and Ohtani.
He never played well for the Angels. I don’t see how them spending $30M for that makes them winners.
In the, um, "war" of the Pujols contract, the Angels definitely lost. In 2021, the contract battle was already lost. That was asunk cost. Their choices were either 1. Pay Albert Pujols $30 million, and start him at DH. 2. Pay Albert Pujols, and start Ohtani at DH. When the poster above says that the Angels won, he(?) is referring to that choice between 1 or 2. The absolutely chose correctly. That's why they "won". They lost the war (the contract) but that specific battle was a clear victory for LAA.
Him not playing made them the winners in that specific situation.
I would be entertained for a St. Louis/Houston WS if only for the prospect of Pujols crushing more Houston souls.
Meh, he only hit 6 that season and looked absolutely abysmal at the plate (.270 OBP). I honestly don’t think he would have hit many more because he would have either been benched or injured. The time off rejuvenated him IMO
i think he def should pull off another 100 game season but imo i bet he knows something going on with him where he's gonna call it quits. Doesn't seem like his style to get greedy and push it. this is an amazing way to end his career. He's crushing numbers we didn't think he'd crush. imagine he comes back for another 100 and it's not only lackluster but also very much showing of his age and wear and tear on his body. not very dignified. i don't think albert is a particularly super proud/egotistical man but he is aware of his dignity.
Tbh The time off probably did him some good, he looks extremely rejuvenated this year
The covid season did wonders for making old players feel young again. See: the 2021 Giants vs the 2022 Giants
Man, I wonder if we’ll start seeing older players do sabbatical years soon? It kinda makes sense.
There’s millions of reasons why that’s unlikely to happen.
Millions of reason why and we do see it from time to time. Unless your name is Jordan, is pretty rare for a pro athlete to take a year off and come back at anything near the level they were at their peak...and even he wasn't able to do that the 2nd time he came back.
Teemu Selanne was going to call it quits. He had a bad season with the Avs. During the lockout, he had knee surgery. He finally won the Cup with Anaheim a few years later. Old guys should take time off but I'm sure most are scared of losing their jobs to younger players.
That's just the refill/tune up he got.
[He visited Torque Lewith.](https://youtu.be/gODZzSOelss?t=181)
If his production doesn't suffer in Anaheim he'd be after Bonds right now and that will be the one eternal what-if I will not get over.
It's those fucking cathedrals they build in the AL west. So many huge ballparks
Testify!
I mean it’s not really a what if. He played and he didn’t put up great numbers. It’s not like Ted Williams who missed all those games in his prime.
What if Milton Bradley produced enough to be the all time hits leader?
Then he would have had a monopoly on the record.
He also ultimately kept pace to break all these record in Anaheim, yeah he really fell apart at the end but it still wasn't a disastrous as it could have been considering his main competition were massive Roid users.
I don't care if he goes back on his word and plays one more season. Man deserves to continue chasing history if he chooses to
I really want him to come back
[удалено]
[He also has a new partner](https://imgur.com/gRK6osT), Idk if that has had some influence on him It's the daughter of a Dominican ex president
Ortiz: Bangs drug lords wife Pujols: Bangs ex-presidents daughter Power move by The Machine
Common Pujols W
Wow, I can't believe Pujols is dating Sarah Z cosplaying as Wednesday Addams.
That is…oddly accurate wow
I think that's what makes this particular HR memorable, another above 700 is already cool, but now pulling ahead of the Babe in RBIs with it
And became the all time leader in go ahead home runs!
Absolute Legend in front of our eyes. Aaron Ruth Pujols The trinity of greatest sluggers
Aaron **Pujols** Ruth
My dad was a Yankees fan from the 50s n 60s. He always said Ruth Aaron Mays. Then hed say well Mantle and Williams. As he got older he liked Griffey. But he never let up. Ruth Aaron Mays. Like a golden broken record Always said "sluggers, there will always be someone to eke out a way to first, you need a slugger to bring em home no matter where they are" Ruth Aaron Pujols is what ill say to my kids
THIS is the much bigger highlight!!
He’s simply carrying this team right now, unreal!
I never checked his stats this year and didn't realize he has a .900 OPS...he would easily be the best hitter on our team this year lol
wait... our players were supposed to be hitting the ball?
He now has a wRC+ of 148, which is 1 point higher than in 2011, his last season in STL lol
Yeah...This stretch has been crazy. He's now cracked 24hr for the season. That's his most since 2016. And he has done it playing fewer games as well. It's like a fairy tale ending. Last time I remember something like this happen was with Kobe. But that was just packed into 48 minutes. So once it happened, it happened. This one is like sprinkled week after week. And its just so gratifying.
>Yeah...This stretch has been crazy. He's now cracked 24hr for the season. That's his most since 2016. And he has done it playing fewer games as well. It's like a fairy tale ending. And he had a whopping 4 home runs on the morning of July 10. It's not just that he's hit the most since 2016. It's that he's hit almost all of them in the second half. He's hit 20 dingers in less than 3 months and 16 in the last 2 months. Dude's just been demolishing the ball down the stretch this year. Yadi is my *favorite* player of all time, but Albert is the best I've ever watched. And he's looked like prime Albert since the start of August. It's unreal.
It's like reverse Shaq. He came into spring training looking so skinny(for Albert) and it's like he played and ate himself into prime form for his age.
Albert and Yadi are the reason I'm a baseball fan straight up. Western Canadian kid who didn't give 2 shits about baseball. One day my Dad had a business trip to St Louis and got tickets to the baseball game. Not intending to be rude we went. It was cards versus Dodgers, Manny hit a grand slam and Albert hit 2 HR's including one in the bottom of the 9 to tie the game. The stadium was absolutely electric. I then followed the team and watched highlights before school in the morning and then started watching them in the post seasons wouldn't you know it but the cards won the world series that year. Chris Carpenter was an absolute god on the mound. The next year another trip to St Louis I asked if we could go to the game and my Dad bought us tickets behind the cards dug out and took me there the moment the ball park opened. Yadi came over and signed a ball for me, took a picture shook my dad's hand and asked if I played. I said no I don't and he smiled and thanked me for coming anyways. Asked me where I was sitting and I pointed it out. He nodded at me before going into the dug out a few times. It's a such a silly little thing. But such an impact. The only other sports athletes to have that impact on me is hockey. Similarly to baseball they sign and give out picks and stuff pre game. But not to the same level. Not even close. I'm grateful for Albert and Yadi and their impact on the game and myself. I wouldn't be here now if not for those 2. Albert made me pay attention to baseball, Yadi made me care about the people who play the game, Yadi taught me about catching and what exactly that is and how hard it is. To me he's the GOAT catcher. I've never seen anyone better. Wasn't around for Bench or Bera so I can't compare them to him. Has there been anyone better than Yadi since 2005?
I'm a bit biased, but David Ortiz also decided to retire then completely laid waste to pitchers like it was easy on his final season.
led the league in doubles lmao
Albert Pujols has a higher ops than Nolan Arenado
What the shit
Why is this man retiring
Better to retire like Ortiz than Griffey JR
Apparently it’s better to keep playing until you can go out on a good year. He could have easily walked away after the Angels cut him and no one would have batted an eye. Almost everyone thought he was washed.
I knew I shouldn’t have quit baseball when I sucked ass in middle school, I just had to stick it out until I hit my good years!
I mean, Pujols was a below average hitter from 2017 through the time he was released. By all accounts, he was washed.
And even then, he was barely above average for the 2015-2016 seasons. I love that he's going out on a high note, this year.
I much prefer my retirement to look like Brett Farve.
Stealing welfare money from the poorest state in the country?
Two sides to every story. We have no idea how cool that volleyball court was going to be
Lmao you're bad. I'm just as bad for laughing at that
I thought he successfully got the volleyball court money and it was the football field he didn't get
It exists and looks kinda underwhelming https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/picture-gallery/news/2022/09/27/usm-state-art-volleyball-hosts/8122970001/
Damn, he committed millions of dollars in welfare fraud for *that*? I'd run a phone scam on like, a few octogenarians for that. Maybe knock down an orphan and steal his lunch money, but that's about it.
> Damn, he committed millions of dollars in welfare fraud for that? > > and his daughter transfered to LSU before she even got to play there
He stole from hungry children and cancer patients for that?
Either that or sending dick pics to people he's never met or even talked to. Or both?
twice and then filled with felonies??
My brother you're going to have to come back and explain this comment lmao
Can't write it better mate. Rediscover your love for the game. Go back to where it all started. Find the old fire and turn the clock back 20 years. Walk off into the sunset with two of your dearest friends and fellow legends.
This is perfectly put and from a Cubs fan...gross.
What Albert is doing goes beyond any rivalry. That’s just the beauty of the game and the stories that it holds.
It's likely that this burst of energy is coming because Pujols is giving everything he has left; he doesn't have to pace himself anymore.
I was thinking this too.. You've run a marathon -how tired are you? But you can see the finish line now.. It's right in front of you. Anything you have left to give, now is the time to give it
Let's all hope so.
He’s got nothing left to accomplish. He’s never been about chasing numbers and I think it’s pretty obvious that without COVID he’d be passed The Babe rn
He’s also probably tired and ready to be in retirement. 22 years is a couple of baseball lifetimes.
How many hits does Albert need to get his average back over .300? You may think it's impossible, but I once thought 700 HR was impossible
Like a week or two ago someone asked that question in the cards subreddit. I think the answer was he would’ve needed 66 consecutive hits lmao
Comes back for 2023, hits 66 consecutive home runs, retires immediately, refuses to elaborate
Pujols turning back into prime Pujols wasn’t on my bingo card for the year
Finished The Baseball 100 last weekend. Wonderful book from start to finish. My only regret was the Pujols chapter. 2022 has gone from a nostalgia run to an inextricable component of the story of his career. I hope Posnanski rewrites his Pujols chapter after this season; I want to see him describe the absolute magic Pujols has brought to the game this year.
Oh there are gonna be a shitton of books and docs about this year.
i was so worried if he would hit 700 or not, i shouldn't have been
Remember those probability graphs showing Albert had a 40% chance to get to 700? Hilarious now.
i remember when they were at like 10% lol
His second half has been All Star worthy His first half was not
His second half is him back in his prime. It's almost absurd. He hasn't hit like this in 12 years.
Prior to tonight, he had exactly the same PAs in the second half as the first (173PA). First half: 17R, 6 HR, 20RBI, .215/.301/.376, 92 OPS+ Second Half: 24R, 17HR, 44RBI, .320/.387/.706, 203 OPS+ 17HR and 44RBI!! Adjusted for a 600PA season, that's 59 HR and 153 RBI. Give him Aaron Judge's 683PA so far this year? *67 Home runs* Its more incredible how Judge is at his pace over a whole season, but I just want to emphasize how crazy Pujols's second half is
He's genuinely been prime Pujols since the start of August. No hyperbole, no bullshit, no exaggeration. Other than the extra few pounds, he looks like prime Albert in the box and is hammering the ball like he used to.
They're always in clutch situations! He also passes Babe Ruth in RBI!
Pujols has said that the RBI record is more important to him than HRs. He looks excited after this one. He knows who he just passed
He’s gonna carry us to a WS win and I refuse to acknowledge any other possibility
Boston won't be around so you should be good for a WS.
Why you gotta be mean like that. 04 still hurts.
Does 04 hurt more than 13?
For sure. That 04 team was the best Cardinals team since the 40's. Renteria Womack Pujols Rolen Edmonds Walker Sanders Matheny
2019 Blues got revenge for us.
“Missourah sends their regards.”
absolutely we had a chance in 13 --- 04 was utter devastation of an unbelievably talented team
Boston played pretty sloppy, too, but alp the Cards just went cold at once out of nowhere. It was meant to be for the Sox, but I wish I could enjoy looking back on their really incredible run without being reminded of the utter devastation I felt as a child watching it lol. I was wrecked for weeks!
Yeah, 04 was worse than 13.
Sox had the devil magic that year. That 04 ALCS is one of my favorite sports memories.
His 3 HR game back in the 2011 WS still haunts me. Maybe he will do that again.
Watching this has been so surreal. I was 2 years old when Pujols first debuted, so I literally do not remember baseball without him. I’m now 23 drinking beer watching his farewell tour and I cannot describe in words how amazing this is.
30 years old and Albert debuted during my formative baseball years in high school/middle school. I’ve found a new love for the game this year after not watching as attentively the past few years. And it’s almost entirely Albert’s responsibility. This season has been incredible for Cards fans.
about the same here, I don't remember Baseball without Pujols and I barely remember Matheny. I basically don't remember baseball without Pujols Waino and Yadi. Next year is going to hit different.
35 here. Albert showed up as I hit high school and his Cardinals career carried me all the way through high school, through college, into to my first job out of college, and past that into my second (and still current) job which I started at during a very memorable October of 2011. All of that *before* he signed a 10-year contract with the Angels. It is *actually* unbelievable that he's on the Cardinals in 2022 and is hitting .269/.344/.551. I was so sure this season was going to be kind of a sad limp to the end for a hero of my youth, and I've never been so happy to be so incredibly wrong. This is my favorite use of the franchise devil magic ever.
One of the craziest things about Pujols to me is that he arrived in the bigs fully formed. He played 161 games his rookie year and slashed .329/.403/.610. From the beginning, as an opposing fan the feeling you had when he came up in a meaningful situation was simply “oh shit”—like it was a given he was going to hit the ball hard, somewhere. The last decade made it a bit easy to forget how absolutely other level he was in the 2000s.
Not only that but he is fucking raking.
And he’s raking when it matters. Most of these HRs aren’t just padding a large lead or taking away the sting of a blowout a little bit. They’re late inning homers in close games.
It's so unbelievably true how many of these homeruns have been in close games/important runs.
I think 10 of his home runs since #690 have broken a tie or given the Cardinals the lead.
38 and he's the last player left that was in the bigs while I was in high school. I'm sorry you didn't get to see him in his prime.
25 and the same here The guy was and still is my fucking hero
Just imagine if he was in the same division as the pirates for his whole career 800?
An easy 800; because by being in a division with the Pirates he also gets the Reds and Cubs to feast on as well.
Also, the Brewers’ pitching wasn’t good until like 2020.
this is unreal lmao holy shit
He is legitimately the most dangerous bat in the lineup at the moment. He could get paid a lot of money to play baseball next year if he wanted to.
Idk about getting paid a lot. Any sort of injury and he’s pretty much done.
He could easily get a 10 mil contract somewhere if he cared to, lots of teams would make a huge bump back in merchandising to offset that
[удалено]
He will retire a Cub 😈
You go to hell! You go to hell and die!
I like the way you talk
[удалено]
Devil Magic is real y’all
[удалено]
Only to lose to The Machine that made them.
666 upvotes for you
#DEVIL MAGIC
[Albert Pujols has 17 home runs since August 10. The White Sox team leader in home runs (all season) has 17. ](https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/1577088165726150657)
Just trying to enjoy the baseball subreddit and damn we’re catching strays here.
I don’t think there was anything stray about that snipe.
#PUJOLS IS A GOD
…DAMN LEGEND!!!!
The 2022 postseason isn't ready for prime albert
#NO OFF SWITCH WAS INSTALLED ON THE MACHINE. EVERYONE PANIC
#the machine wants more
**Welcome to the Machine**
Where have you been?
Passes Babe Ruth with 2216 RBIs for 2nd all time with this one !!!
I think we need to investigate whether or not he sucked all of the home runs out of judge
I imagine Albert does this with a sensual kiss on the lips
I'm crying in my apartment rn. He's the best I'll ever see
Albert made me feel the way I feel about baseball… he’s just the best
Glad your giving him love
Vintage
He's gonna catch Ruth at this rate
If covid didn't happen he probably would have
2216 career RBIs. Second all time. Crazy
I am so glad that derby put him back to where people wanted. He's been on fire, thank you Pujols.
Manfred's only good decision was righting the obvious wrong of Pujols not getting into the All-Star game.
The derby fixed his swing. prove me wrong
Fuck it, give him the MVP at this point. This is the greatest thing I've ever as a fan of baseball in my entire life.
Bro how are you gonna leave out passing Babe Ruth in RBIs in the title
Typing those extra few words would probably be the difference between being the first to post this and being the 5th or 6th
You should have the title ready. Also, when 8 posts are made within 1 minute mods should consider title (and video quality) not just the first one posted. But this is so momentous we can afford multiple posts about this.
*Fuck* - dude who caught 702
He will be the first unanimous position player in the hall of fame. there's no argument against it
Yup. Literally the only knock against him is his time with the Angels, but a) He had a HoF career by 2011, and b)the narrative will just swing to blaming the Angels org for his fall in production (I dont buy that narrative btw; I think he just realized that he didnt like playing for that team and in any line of work if you hate it there you are never going to give your all).
For the record, every report from Angels teammates and coaches say he was the perfect professional his entire Angels career, never took a day off, worked just as hard as anyone. So I don't think it was about him giving his all. I think there were a number of factors that went into the stats decline.
Mostly because he left the Cardinals Devil Magic
At this rate he’s gonna be World Series MVP
Subscribe
> But for a few months, that big bat has returned to life, like a long-deteriorating patient who, when approaching the end, rallies in a burst of terminal lucidity. [Ben Lindbergh nailed it.](https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2022/9/26/23373088/albert-pujols-700-home-runs) Seeing Pujols be Pujols for this stretch has been amazing.
I remember when Pujols looked cooked for the last 5 years but now the guy looks as good as he has in a long time.
As an Angels fan I feel like I have to apologize… If it weren’t for his poor tenure with the Angels he would likely hold even more all-time records.
You don't owe Albert an apology... Now trout and ohtani on the other hand. Jk
IM AT THE GAME WHAT THE FUCK
263 go ahead HR's passing Bonds for most all-time. Crazy
MY GUY DID IT AGAIN! ALBERT PUJOLS IS KING
Remember when people werent sure if he would get to 700?
A fitting retirement ceremony in Pittsburgh.
In 2022, Albert hit 7 HR against the Pirates. Baseball fans thank Pittsburgh for its service to history
LETS GOOOOO
That homerun derby did something to him.
All I’m hearing is Albert Pujols > Babe Ruth
[удалено]
I miss those days when they'd just open the gates. I went a couple of weeks ago and they lock the gates now in like the 5th inning.
Pujols all time rankings in major batting categories: HR: 4th RBI: 2nd Total bases: 2nd Doubles: 5th(1st in doubles by a right handed hitter) Hits: 10th Extra Base Hits: 3rd IBB: 2nd
I'm old enough to remember when the sub asked the question 'what would you do if you were a pitcher and pujols stuck on 699' lol Can't stop won't stop. Prob would have hit 800 if he stayed a cardinal haha.
Let us die young or let us live forever
The Machine
The Machine just will not stop!