St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols is playing the final season of his career.
His home fans know that after this year, they won’t get the chance to see him play the beautiful game of baseball anymore.
Even though he is not nearly the player he was on his prime, Pujols is still highly respected by baseball fans in virtually every stadium.
For fans at Busch Stadium, the recognition and respect for what he did to the franchise is, quite literally, never-ending.
“Albert Pujols gets a standing ovation from the Busch Stadium crowd as he steps to the plate as a pinch hitter during a random midweek day game. That’s pretty cool,” Newsday’s writer and analyst Tim Healey wrote on Twitter.
Albert Pujols gets a standing ovation from the Busch Stadium crowd as he steps to the plate as a pinch hitter during a random midweek day game. That’s pretty cool.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) April 27, 2022
Pujols won two World Series while wearing the Cardinals uniform, in 2006 and 2011.
He also won multiple MVP awards, Silver Sluggers, and broke many team records.
A Diminished Role On The Field, But A Legend Nonetheless
The 42-year-old legend, who has a .297/.375/.544 career line over 22 amazing seasons in The Show, is now being used primarily as a pinch-hitter and occasional designated hitter by the Cardinals.
Most of his playing time comes against left-handed pitchers, too, as a way to keep him involved and productive.
In fact, he is currently slashing a solid .269/.345/.538 line with two home runs in 29 plate appearances.
He is currently at 681 career home runs, and would need 19 more to reach 700.
Only three men have hit that many dingers: Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron, and Babe Ruth.
Can Pujols get there?
It doesn’t really matter: people in St. Louis love him, and they show him that love every single day.
He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer five years from now.
