With Barry Bonds poised to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the Major League Baseball all-time home run rankings, the St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols is on pace to become what many fans would consider the single-season home run champion.
While Bonds hit 75 home runs in 2001 to better Mark McGwire’s 70 in 1998, both those sluggers’ feats are tainted by suspected steroid use. Also, Samy Sosa has been smeared with the steroid allegation brush, so his 66 home runs in 1998 are also suspect.
With 17 home runs in 34 games, Pujols is averaging a home run every two games. That would leave him with a remarkable 81 home runs in 162 games. While that likely is an impossibility, Pujols seems sure to challenge the 61 home run mark of the late Roger Maris.
Pujols’ home run on Tuesday lifted the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
