Albert Pujols

"Pujols" redirects here. For other uses, see Pujols (disambiguation).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pujols and the second or maternal family name is Alcántara.
Albert Pujols
Pujols holding up a bat after a swing
Pujols with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008
First baseman / Designated hitter
Born: (1980-01-16) January 16, 1980 (age 44)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 2, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 2022, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average.296
Hits3,384
Home runs703
Runs batted in2,218
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
Career highlights and awards

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈxols], Catalan pronunciation: [puˈʒɔls]; born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "the Machine" (Spanish: La Máquina), Pujols is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Pujols is a highly regarded hitter who has long shown a "combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power."[1][2][3] He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He is a six-time Silver Slugger who has twice led the NL in home runs, and he has also led the NL once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). In 2018, Pujols collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone.[4] During the 2022 season, Pujols returned to the Cardinals and moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs.[5] At the end of the season, he was also the major league career leader in double plays grounded into (426), 3rd in sacrifice flies (123), 5th in games played (3,080) and doubles (686), and 6th in at bats (11,421).[6] He won two Gold Glove awards at first base in his career.

  1. ^ Leach, Matthew (May 27, 2014). "Miggy's brilliance illuminates Pujols' remarkable peak". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. ^ Florio, Mike (August 27, 2010). "Is Albert Pujols the greatest right-handed hitter of all time?". Hardball Talk. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  3. ^ Paine, Neil (April 27, 2014). "Baseball Is Finally Remembering How Good Albert Pujols Can Be". fivethirtyeight.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  4. ^ CBS/AP (May 5, 2018). "Albert Pujols becomes 32nd member of 3,000-hit club with hit against Mariners". CBS News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  5. ^ Brown, Tim (2022-09-24). "Albert Pujols Hits His 700th Career Home Run". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  6. ^ "Albert Pujols Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.