Tag: Albert Pujols

1 incredible stat shows how Serena Williams and Albert Pujols eerily did the same thing 21 years apart

What were the odds?

Serena Williams and Albert Pujols have dominated their respective sports for so long that the only thing standing between them and retirement this year are historic records.

Williams is playing in her final US Open this week with a chance to tie Margaret Court for most Grand Slam victories all-time. And with a month left in his final regular season, Pujols is just six home runs shy of becoming the fourth player ever to reach 700.

He added to that tally on Monday night, the same day Williams won her first-round match at the Open. And one stat eerily summed up how long these two have been at it.

That’s right, 21 years apart on the same exact day, Williams won, Pujols homered and three separate father-son duos notched hits — and all the sons play for the Toronto Blue Jays. That is absolutely bonkers.

The odds of something like this happening had to be off the charts.

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Albert Pujols surprised a young Cardinals fan by accepting his request for a jersey exchange

You LOVE to see it.

Albert Pujols is chasing history in his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals as he nears 700 home runs. But this week, in particular, has felt special for the future Hall of Famer as his last road series at Wrigley Field.

One Cardinals fan will have a memory that’ll last a lifetime thanks to Pujols.

Video from after Wednesday night’s 7-1 Cubs win showed a young fan, Cooper, holding a sign for Pujols from atop the Cardinals dugout. That sign read, “Albert can we trade jerseys? Go Cardinals!!!!”

Pujols took notice of the young fan’s sign, removed his jersey and slid it to the fan from the dugout. I mean, what a moment, what a gesture.

It didn’t appear that Pujols needed Cooper’s Yadier Molina jersey T-shirt, so it wasn’t an actual jersey swap. But let’s be honest: That was the best result possible for Cooper. He got a game-used Pujols jersey from his final season AND he got to keep his Molina shirt.

Baseball fans loved seeing that from Pujols as well. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Albert Pujols has until Oct. 5 to reach 700 home runs. Don’t doubt The Machine’s chances.

The St. Louis Machine never breaks.

It’s starting to feel a little bit like 1998 again in St. Louis, isn’t it?

Sure, Aaron Judge is the only one in baseball who is chasing the single-season home run record (which is 73, not 61), but Albert Pujols’ quest to hit 700 home runs for his career feels significantly more urgent.

Judge may have another crack at Barry Bonds’ record. Pujols has made clear he intends to retire after this season whether or not he becomes the fourth player in MLB history to reach 700.

Sportsbooks all over are rushing to price out the odds here. One oddsmaker and market analyst told BetFTW the true percentage for Pujols to hit 700 is 18 percent—odds that translate to about +425.

At the rate he’s currently hitting, the Cardinals legend will surely make that number look comical by the end of the year.

Of course, that’s not how baseball works. Small sample sizes are often more fun in the abstract. The reality is Pujols rakes against lefties and does little damage against anyone else.

Baseball-Reference gives him a 15 percent chance to reach 700 even at his current rate:

But let’s consider a few important factors here.

  1. Those RHP/LHP splits are no joke.
    2022 Stats BA OBP SLG HR
    vs. RHP .184 .285 .316 4
    vs. LHP .398 .436 .807 10
  2. The Cardinals are five games up on the Brewers for first in the NL Central and have the third-easiest schedule remaining. Seven of those upcoming games are in extremely hitter-friendly stadiums like Wrigley Field and Great American Ball Park.
  3. Pujols is going to get every opportunity possible to mash a home run. No matter the score, the inning or if he’s on the bench.

Any time a lefty enters the game, it’s fair to assume Pujols will, too. So if Baseball Reference is assuming that 15 percent chance comes with him playing in just 59 percent of St. Louis’ remaining games, it’s not hard to imagine him surpassing that threshold and increasing his odds.

Here’s the other bit of reality: Watching great players chase historic milestones never, ever gets old. Crazier things have happened in baseball than someone who’s nickname is literally The Machine continuing to produce at a ridiculous rate.

Bet on Pujols hitting No. 700 this year. Bet on it because no one wants to root for this under to hit. Bet on it because many of the prices offered will be so far off the true value it’s impossible to turn down. Bet on it because we all deserve to witness greatness while we can.

But first accept that the odds are stacked against you before you place that bet. Because baseball, if nothing else, is cruelty in action.

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La carrera de Albert Pujols para llegar a 700 homeruns se ha convertido en la historia más divertida de la MLB

Albert Pujols es un hombre viejo, bueno, no en la vida real. En la vída real únicamente tiene 42 años, pero en la vida del beisbol también tiene 42, que es bastante viejo para la vida beisbolera. Eso hace que lo que ha estado haciendo últimamente …

Albert Pujols es un hombre viejo, bueno, no en la vida real. En la vída real únicamente tiene 42 años, pero en la vida del beisbol también tiene 42, que es bastante viejo para la vida beisbolera.

Eso hace que lo que ha estado haciendo últimamente sea tan divertido: conectando homeruns como solía hacerlo durante su carrera. El sábado conectó dos más para llegar a un total de 13 en la temporada, ––¡la semana pasado hizo cinco!–– y también tuvo dos otros hits contra los Diamondbacks para convertirse en el primer jugador de 42 años o más de la historia en tener 4 hits en un partido.

Ahora Pujols está a tan solo ocho homeruns de convertirse en el cuarto jugador en la historia de la MLB en anotar 700 homeruns. Normalmente, perseguir un número puede ser un poco tonto, pero unirse a las filas de Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron y de Babe Ruth sería algo bastante increíble y es una persecución que puede ser muy atractiva para los fans casuales del beisbol porque, seamos honestos, todos amamos una buena persecución de homeruns. La verdad es que a todos nos gusta eso.

Traducción: ¡Albert Pujols con su segundo homerun de la noche y el 692 de su carrera!
Ahora solo le faltan 8 para tener 700…

 

Pero hay un truco: Pujols necesita conectar esos ocho homeruns dentro de las próximas seis semanas porque se va a retirar al final de la temporada. El fin de semana le dijo a nuestro amigo Bob Nightengale que aunque no llegue al club de los 700 él se va a retirar:

“Aún me voy a retirar, no importa si termino con 693, 696, 700 o los que sean’’, le dijo Pujols a USA TODAY Sports. “No me voy a clavar con los números. Si hace 22 años me hubieran dicho que llegaría a estar así de cerca, les hubiera dicho que estaban completamente locos. Mi carrera ha sido maravillosa.’’.

Así que sí, será una carrera hacia la meta muy alocada para alguien que conectó su primer homerun en la MLB allá por 2001. Desde entonces, ha sido MVP tres veces, dos veces campeón de la Serie Mundial y lo han invitado 11 veces al All-Star. Es uno de los mejores de la historia, y como la semana pasada fue una semana asombrosa, ahora tiene una muy buena oportunidad de terminar su carrera legendaria con mucho estilo.

Este último tramo será muy divertido para alguien que, antes de haber conectado todos esos homeruns la semana pasada, tenía todo el derecho a estar satisfecho con simplemente recorrer lo que le falta para llegar a la meta.

Y si Pujols no puede llegar a los 700, ojalá al menos logre pasar a Alex Rodríguez, quien tiene 696, porque pensamos que eso es algo que todos podríamos celebrar.

 

Artículo traducido por Ana Lucía Toledo

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This slo-mo view of Albert Pujols’ swing on home run No. 693 is a thing of absolute beauty

This swing. Wow.

Albert Pujols did it again.

Yesterday morning I wrote about how his chase for home run No. 700 has suddenly become the most fun story of the MLB season.

Then last night I was sitting on my couch looking at my phone when I saw that Pujols went yard again, this time with a high bomb against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and I pumped a fist. Home run chases are fun and now we have a good one to track.

Then this morning I saw this slo-mo view of his swing on that homer and I was in awe. Look at what this 42-year-old fella did to this high fastball:

Unbelievable.

That was his SEVENTH home run in the last 12 days. He’s on absolute fire and now 700 looks like a real thing that can happen.

Here’s a full view of that homer:

Twitter loved that slo-mo view.

Albert Pujols’ chase for 700 home runs has suddenly become the most fun story of the MLB season

This would be an awesome way for a legend to go out.

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Albert Pujols is an old man. Well, not in real life. He’s only 42 in real life. But in baseball life he’s also 42, which pretty darn old for baseball life.

That makes what he’s been doing lately so darn fun – crushing home runs like he used to in his career. On Saturday he hit two more to bring his season total to 13 – he had five(!) homers last week – and he also had two other hits against the Diamondbacks to become the first player ever to have 4 hits in a game at the age of 42 or over.

Now Pujols is only eight home runs away from becoming just the fourth player in MLB history to hit 700 home runs. Normally numbers chasing can get kind of silly but joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth would be pretty darn cool and it’s a chase that can attract casual baseball fans because let’s be honest – we all love a good home run chase. We do indeed dig the long ball.

But here’s the catch – Pujols needs to hit those eight homers over the next six weeks because he is going to retire at the end of the season. He told our friend Bob Nightengale over the weekend that he will still call it quits even if he doesn’t reach the 700 club:

“I’m still going to retire, no matter whether I end up hitting 693, 696, 700, whatever,’’ Pujols told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t get caught up in numbers. If you were going to tell me 22 years ago that I would be this close, I would have told you that you’re freakin’ crazy. My career has been amazing.’’

So yeah, it’s going to be hectic sprint to the finish for a dude who hit his first MLB home run way back in 2001. Since then he’s been a 3-time MVP, a 2-time World Series champ, and an 11-time All-Star. He’s one of the all-time greats who now thanks to his huge week last week has a very good chance of closing out his legendary career in absolute style.

It’s going to be a fun run to the finish for a guy who rightfully seemed content with just cruising to the finish line before going off last week with all those home runs.

And if Pujols can’t reach 700, hopefully he at least passes Alex Rodriguez at 696 because I think that’s something that we all could celebrate.

Quick hits: NFL watchability rankings… Weird MLB home run… Little Leaguer shows off cannon of an arm… And more. 

(AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

– The 2022 NFL season is quickly approaching and Robert Zeglinski has ranked all 32 teams from least to most exciting to watch.

– Toronto’s Whit Merrifield hit one of the weirdest/coolest home runs against the Yankees yesterday. What was so wild about it? It bounced on the top of the wall not once, but twice!

– An Iowa Little League outfielder showed off an absolute cannon of an arm in Williamsport.

– Dodgers pitcher Dustin May returned from injury and immediately threw some of the nastiest pitches of the MLB season.

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Albert Pujols pinch-hit a stunning grand slam for his 690th career home run, and MLB fans were amazed

Albert absolutely destroyed this ball!

Sometime in the next few months, the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols will cap an illustrious 22-year career. But as he starts to round home on his pending retirement, the St. Louis baseball legend still has a few shows to put on.

On Thursday afternoon, as the Cardinals hosted the Rockies (+192), Pujols had a perfect chance in front of him. With the bases loaded at the bottom of the third inning, and St. Louis already leading 6-0, Pujols came on to pinch-hit and see what magic could create with his bat.

Let’s just say the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer fully maximized the opportunity:

Holy cow, Pujols destroyed that ball! That’s one heck of a way to notch your 690th career home run — your first career pinch-hit grand slam. No wonder the home crowd at Busch Stadium went absolutely bananas for the all-time great. (Note: The Cardinals went on to win 13-0.)

For additional context, that’s now 16 career grand slams for Pujols as he puts himself within earshot of 700 career homers in his final MLB season. With 45 games remaining, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Pujols becomes the fourth member of the 700-home run club behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth.

Oh, and Pujols is heating up at the right time, too:

With all this said, we’ll cross that milestone bridge if/when we get to it.

For now, take a bow, Sir Albert.

¡Ay no! Las bromas para Albert Pujols por darle su cadena al umpire mientras estaba al bat

Albert Pujols ha estado en las grandes ligas por 22 años. No necesita ayuda adicional de los umpires, pero bueno, no pasaba nada si se ponía a prueba la integridad de Laz Diaz. OK, la verdad no. Durante el partido del martes entre los Cardinals y …

Albert Pujols ha estado en las grandes ligas por 22 años. No necesita ayuda adicional de los umpires, pero bueno, no pasaba nada si se ponía a prueba la integridad de Laz Diaz.

OK, la verdad no.

Durante el partido del martes entre los Cardinals y los Blue Jays en el Rogers Centre, a la mitad de su turno al bat en la tercera entrada, Pujols se dio cuenta de que se había roto su cadena. En lugar de parar el juego para regresar al dugout, Pujols decidió simplemente darle la cadena rota al umpire de home, Diaz, quien se guardó la pieza de joyería en su bolsillo mientras Pujols se reía.

Obviamente no estaba sobornando al umpire, pero la verdad es que el intercambio fue muy simpático.

Traducción: Albert Pujols fue atrapado en 4K sobornando al umpire. Su legado se ve empañado.

 

Tampoco es que Pujols haya necesitado de la ayuda de Diaz al bat. Después de unos fouls, Pujols logró una carrera impulsada con un sencillo hacia el campo derecho. Los Blue Jays terminaron tomando la ventaja para ganar 10-3, pero aún así, los fans tuvieron muchísimas bromas sobra la secuencia de la cadena con Diaz.

Así reaccionó Twitter:

Traducción 1: Me encanta el último año de cualquier gran atleta, siempre es más divertido ver sus payasadas.
Traducción 2: Albert Pujols fue atrapado en 4K sobornando al umpire. Su legado se ve empañado.

 

Traducción 1: Vi esto en vivo y pensé lo mismo.
Traducción 2: Albert Pujols fue atrapado en 4K sobornando al umpire. Su legado se ve empañado.

 

Traducción: Mi chico se toma fotos con niños, saluda de mano a senadores y soborna umpires… ¿quién es mejor que él? NADIE.

 

Traducción 1: Albert Pujols fue atrapado en 4K sobornando al umpire. Su legado se ve empañado.
Traducción 2: Pujols sobornando umpires / El mayor escándalo de trampa / Astros.

 

¿Cómo se recuperará el legado de Pujols de esto?

 

Artículo traducido por Ana Lucía Toledo

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Albert Pujols handed the ump his chain during an at-bat and MLB fans made plenty of jokes

The biggest MLB bribery scandal of our time!

Albert Pujols has spent 22 years in the big leagues. He doesn’t need any extra help from the umpires, but hey, it didn’t hurt to test Laz Diaz’s integrity.

OK, not actually.

During Tuesday’s game between the Cardinals and Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, Pujols noticed that his gold chain broke in the middle of his third-inning at-bat. Instead of causing an extended stoppage in the action and going back to the dugout, Pujols decided to simply hand the broken chain to the home plate umpire Diaz who put the jewelry in his pocket as Pujols laughed.

He obviously wasn’t bribing the umpire, but the exchange was pretty hilarious nonetheless.

Pujols didn’t need Diaz’s help either in the at-bat. After fouling off a couple pitches, Pujols hit an RBI single to right field. The Blue Jays ended up pulling ahead to win, 10-3, but fans still had plenty of jokes about that chain sequence with Diaz.