St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols has blasted his way into the exclusive group of three members to hit 700 career home runs. The veteran hit the second of two home runs on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, to reach the milestone in the fourth inning off right-hander Phil Bickford.Ā
With this hit, Pujols joins the distinct company in the form of some of the most prolific sluggers the game has ever seen: Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).
Alber Pujols first clubbed career home run 699 in the third inning and the excitement for the 700th started to build already.
Here’s the video:
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Big Al’s 700th hit
The wait wasn’t long when Pujols connected with No. 700 in the fourth inning as he soared into the MLB history.
After circling the bases, Pujols went straight over to Adrian BeltrĆ© for a high-five through the netting. He was then greeted outside of the dugout by his Cardinals teammates. The Dodger Stadium crowd of 50,041 gave him a deserving standing ovation when he came back out of the dugout to acknowledge the cheers for his historic blast. Chants of “Al-bert, Al-bert” came from fans behind the Cardinals’ dugout.Ā Ā
Here’s the exhilarating video:
Albert Pujols Final Season
Albert Pujols entered the season with the Cardinals knowing it was his last. He’s never strayed from his declaration that he was playing in 2022 and not a single year longer, despite the possibility that he could get so close to 700 and still fall short. But, he did not.
The historic home run comes at the tail end of a late-career renaissance for Pujols, who returned to the St. Louis Cardinals this season at age 42 ā after leaving as a free agent a decade earlier.Ā
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