Steve Webb
Even at 42, former Dodger Albert Pujols can still rake. On Saturday night, Tío Albert had his best offensive night of the year, hitting two home runs and moving past Stan Musial into second place on the career list for total bases.
Pujols connected for solo homers in the second and fourth innings against our old buddy Madison Bumgarner of the Arizona Diamondbacks to help St. Louis win 16-7. Pujols nearly hit a third homer, scorching a single off the base of the left field wall in the fifth. He capped his 4-for-4 night with a ground ball single through the left side of the infield in the seventh.
So far this year, Pujols has 13 home run is 197 at-bats, and is hitting a very respectable .269 with an .859 OPS. There are a lot of 25-year-olds who kill for the those numbers. In his time with the Dodgers, Pujols had roughly the same number of at-bats and hit 12 dingers. In 85 appearance with the Boys in Blue, Pujols’s slash line was .259/.359/.460. So you could make the argument that Pujols is even better at 42 than he was at 41. He certainly seems to be enjoying every minute of his farewell tour this season.
Of course, with the recent power surge from Pujols, it sets up the tantalizing possibility that he just might get that home run total up to 700. Only three other players have crossed that threshold in their careers: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and He Who Shall Not Be Named.
Breaking down the numbers, it’s possible, but not likely. Even with St. Louis, Pujols is not an everyday player. He’s averaging about 1.4 at-bats per team game played. And he’s hitting homers at a clip of about one dinger per 15 at-bats. The Cardinals have 43 games left on the schedule. If these numbers hold, that pencils out to 60 more at-bats before the season is over, which would result in four more home runs. That would put him at 696, four homers short of the mythical mark. And, it would put Pujols into a tie with Alex Rodriguez for 4th place on the the career home run leaderboard.
Albert Pujols is a very likeable player, so it would be great to see him get number 700, but unless pitchers put it on a tee for him in these last few weeks, it probably won’t happen. Plus, Pujols assures folks that he’s going to retire at the end of the year, regardless of what the final home run total may be.
“I’m still going to retire, no matter whether I end up hitting 693, 696, 700, whatever,” Pujols told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t get caught up in numbers. If you were going to tell me 22 years ago that I would be this close, I would have told you that you’re freakin’ crazy. My career has been amazing.”
In the same article, Pujols heaps praise on the Dodgers and his time with the ballclub in 2021. “I had so much respect for that organization, so much respect for the players, and was so blessed to have the opportunity to be back in the playoffs,’’ Pujols said. “It kind of really excited me to come back and play this year because they gave me the joy, gave me that thrill of being back in the postseason.’’
The respect is mutual, Tío Albert, it’s mutual. Dodger fans will be able to see Pujols in person when the Cardinals come to town for a weekend series in September. The games are Sept. 23-25. Tickets for all games are still available. It will be one last chance to say farewell to one of the game’s best hitters of all-time.
And, I’m sure before the game, there will be plenty of Tío Albert hugs for his former teammates. Goodspeed, Albert Pujols. May your last weeks in the big leagues bring you as much joy as you’ve brought a generation of baseball fans.
