St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th home run, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth as the only players to reach the milestone.
Pujols entered the game two homers shy of 700. He launched No. 699, a two-run blast that traveled 434 feet into the left-field pavilion, off Dodgers left-hander Andrew Heaney in the third inning.
and Roger Maris’ single-season American League home-run record of 61. But it captivated St. Louis fans, who rose to their feet with smart phones positioned to capture every one of the 42-year-old’s at-bats in Busch Stadium, and players all around the game. Pujols’ ascent to 700 near the end of his 22nd and final season continued a late-career renaissance that began after the aging and oft-injured first baseman was released by the Angels in May 2021 with the team failing to win a playoff game over the course of Pujols’ 10-year, $240-million contract.
Pujols signed a one-year, $2.5-million deal last March to return to St. Louis, where he was baseball’s most-feared right-handed hitter in the first 11 years of his career, batting .328 with a 1.037 OPS, 445 homers and 1,329 RBIs, winning three National League most valuable player awards and two World Series titles.
“I think for me, it’s been more special because it almost felt like people forgot about him in Anaheim,” Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker said. “And then he had that resurgent second half last year and was great. Schumaker recalled a recent conversation he had with Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, 35, an NL MVP candidate who entered the weekend series against the Dodgers with a .321 average, 1.003 OPS, 35 homers and 112 RBIs.
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