On Friday night, St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols launched two home runs to become the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 700 career home runs.
In the third inning, “The Machine” sent a two-strike fastball from Andrew Heaney into left-center field at Dodger Stadium for No. 699. The conversation in the booth quickly turned to No. 700, and Pujols didn’t leave us waiting long to reach the milestone. In his next at-bat, the future Hall of Famer got a hanging slider from Phil Bickford and lifted it 389 feet into the leftfield bleachers. As he crossed home plate, Pujols embraced fellow Cardinal legends Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright before tipping his helmet to the spirited crowd.
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Pujols, 42, joins Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth as the only members of baseball’s 700 home run club. Pujols and Aaron are also members of a more elusive club as the only players with 700 home runs and 3,000 hits, to go along with 2,200 career RBIs. Across his 22-year career, the three-time MVP and 11-time All-Star boasts a resume comparable only to the greats. He spent his first eleven years in St. Louis, winning two World Series before joining the Los Angeles Angels for a decade. Pujols also played 85 games with the Dodgers last season, making it particularly special to hit No. 700 in LA.
“It’s pretty special,” Pujols said. “When it’s really gonna hit me is when I’m done, at the end of the season, when I’m retired, and probably a moment or two after that I can look at the numbers.”
The Cardinals went on to blow out the Dodgers 11-0 in a matchup that could be a playoff preview between two division leaders. As Albert Pujols further cements himself as one of the greatest players in baseball history, our eyes turn to Aaron Judge as the Yankees slugger looks to break the single-season American League home run record.
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