As 600 clubber, Pujols can still dazzle
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albert Pujols dug his right foot into the dirt, then his left, and nestled his deteriorating body into his famous stance. He crouched, he glared, he wiggled his maple bat, and he waited.
When a slider approached him, he gently cocked back his hands and ripped them through the strike zone, sending the commemorative baseball soaring toward the left-field foul pole at Angel Stadium. When Pujols debuted in the major leagues, the speed of those hands represented a revelation, an alarm sounding to all pitchers: Do not make a mistake to that kid.
Sixteen years later, at 37, he is no longer the indefatigable force he once was. But in any given moment, Pujols can produce a
swing as vicious as any in baseball. On Saturday night, one of those vaulted Pujols into his rarest territory yet. His fourth-inning grand slam off Minnesota Twins righthander Ervin Santana, his former Los Angeles Angels teammate, made him the ninth major leaguer to hit 600 home runs and the first to reach the milestone with a slam.
Pujols checked his phone between innings and saw a text from his wife in the stands. Deidre Pujols bluntly told him to stop pressing so hard for No. 600.
Although the slugger isn’t strictly supposed to be using his phone during games, that message was exactly what Pujols, who had three straight homerless games since hitting No. 599, needed to hear. After he rounded the bases, Pujols waved to the roaring crowd on his way to the dugout, then paused before the steps to plant a kiss on Deidre.
“I’m glad I listen to her once in a while,” Pujols said with a smile. “At a moment like this, I always start putting pressure on myself. Usually, she’ll give me some encouragement. It was just a perfect time to check my phone, and I’m glad I did.”
Pujols, a 13th-round draft pick who became one of the greatest hitters of his generation, follows Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome and Sammy Sosa into the 600 club.
Pujols, Bonds and Aaron are the only players with 600 home runs and 600 doubles. Pujols is 124 hits shy of 3,000, which he figures to get to next season.
“I don’t play here for numbers,” Pujols said last week after hitting No. 599. “My goal since day one when I got to the big leagues was to help the organization that I wear the uniform of. At the end of my career, numbers are numbers. I think I’m going to have plenty of time, but my main goal is to try to win a championship here.
“I’m aware of the history — don’t get me wrong. I respect it, but I think that’s kind of a distraction that I don’t want to bring into the game.”
Astros victimized most
Pujols, the only player to hit at least 30 home runs in each of his first 12 big league seasons, has gone deep in 37 ballparks and against all 30 big league teams. (His 55 homers against the Astros are his high against any team.) Santana is one of 386 pitchers to yield a long ball to him.
“It’s pretty incredible,” said Angels superstar Mike Trout, who went to the ballpark right after having thumb surgery Wednesday because he wanted to see Pujols make history and had returned every night since, his hand in a cast. “Each night he gets a hit or gets an RBI, he’s passing somebody. (On Thursday) he passed Babe Ruth in hits. It’s remarkable, his career so far. He’s got a lot of baseball left, but I think the biggest thing is 600. That’s special.”
Pujols is the majors’ active leader in homers by a long shot, and the 600-homer club might not get its next member for several years. Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, 34, has 451 homers, and the nextclosest player under 34 is Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, 33, with 292.
Still an RBI force
Although he has made just one All-Star team since signing a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Angels after the 2011 season, Pujols has been a consistent offensive threat in Orange County when healthy, racking up 119 RBIs last season and ranking second in the AL with 42 RBIs this season. Injuries and age have forced the Angels to use the formerly above-average fielder largely as a DH. He played only 28 games at first base last season and has played just four this year.
“This guy is probably the toughest ballplayer I’ve ever seen,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “To be able to go out there at maybe 50 percent and still be productive, what he means to the team in the dugout, in the clubhouse, you can see why he’s been a winner his whole career.”
Pujols made nine AllStar teams for St. Louis and won three MVP awards, two NL home run titles and the 2003 batting crown. More importantly to Pujols, the Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 and 2011, and he capped that second championship run in style with three homers in Game 3 of St. Louis’ seven-game victory over Texas.
Pujols then hit free agency for the first time, and Angels owner Arte Moreno shocked the sport by offering one of the biggest contracts in baseball history to entice the slugger.
The contract set nearimpossible expectations for everyone involved — and by his admission, Pujols hasn’t achieved his goals in Anaheim. Since Pujols arrived and Trout concurrently became a star, the Angels have made only one playoff appearance.
Yet the Angels are optimistic about their future around Pujols and Trout, who is sidelined for six weeks with his injury. Trout was grateful to be in attendance for No. 600 and expects to see No. 700.
“For sure,” Trout said. “I wouldn’t put nothing past Albert. He comes in, plays hard. He’s a competitor, a great teammate and a great person off the field. He’ll do anything for you.”