When the St. Louis Cardinals signed free-agent Albert Pujols for a 2022 Farewell tour, my thought was, “It’s a nice gesture.”
I, like most Cardinals fans, was cynical in thinking, “the team will certainly sell more tickets.”
I didn’t think he had a chance of reaching 700 home runs. When the season began, he needed 21 to reach the 700 Club. I figured he might get within five – and I also noted in a column or two here that if he fell just short, he could come back in 2023.
There will be no 2023 campaign for Pujols because he belted home runs 699 and 700 against the L.A. Dodgers in Dodgers Stadium on Friday night, Sept. 23, 2022.
On July 1, Pujols was barely hitting .200, had just four home runs and it seemed his power was a memory.
Seventeen home runs later, he is one of four players to reach the 700-home run plateau. Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Pujols are an exclusive group of guys.
Say what you want about Bonds, he deserves to be there. He and Pujols always had kind things to say about one another. I’m sure the late Aaron and Ruth are pleased with Pujols as well.
I have to say that I do not think Pujols is “juiced up” in any way. Sports is one of the dwindling number of places where a person can “will” something to happen. That’s when talent and determination meet and an athlete or team says, “I will do this.”
I had my issues with the guy during his longtime first stint as a Cardinal. As his fame grew, he turned into a jerk. In 2006, when he was in a battle with St. Louis native Ryan Howard for the National League Most Valuable Player Award, I wrote the following:
“Pujols has suddenly become irritating with some of his words and actions [on the field.]”
It should also be remembered that after his departure to play for the California Angels in 2012, many of the same fans that now stand and cheer, eviscerated him for being disloyal to Cardinal Nation. Some of the comments had obvious racial overtones.
Pujols was a “bad guy.” Now he is a “great guy.” He once again is “our guy.”
“When it’s really going to hit me (is) when I’m done, at the end of the season and I’m retired. Probably a month or two after that look at the numbers. You know, don’t get me wrong. I know where my place stands in this game,” Pujols said following the historic night.
Now that 700 home runs have been reached, and I think he’ll hit at least two more, Pujols has his eyes set on a new number. That number is 14, which is how many wins the Cardinals will need to win the World Series. Two in the wild card round, four in the National League Divisional Series, four in the NL Championship Series and four in the Fall Classic.
The Reid 700 Roundup
Classy of Albert Pujols to immediately acknowledge Adrian Beltrae immediately after touching home plate following his 700th home run. He and his fellow Dominican baseball shared a high five before Pujols was mobbed by his teammates. Of the four members of MLB’s 700 home run club, Pujols is the lone LatinX player…The anonymous fan who secured Pujols’ 700th home run says they intend to keep it. Pujols said that is fine with him. The fan has reportedly turned down multiple offers, and remember that baseball is worth more today than it was last Friday and its value will keep rising…Barry Bonds, who blasted 762 career home runs and should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame with Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714), congratulated Pujols with a pair of posts to his Instagram story, including a photo of the two on the field together, calling the accomplishment “well deserved.”…Bonds and Pujols had a pregame conversation back in the day, and I asked both what was said. Both brushed me off like lint on a suit…The MLB/Apple TV experiment had its worst-case scenario play out on Friday night. The lure of streaming dollars led MLB to partner with Apple, and the result was that most fans in St. Louis did not see Pujols’ home runs live.
