Early on this season, it was highly unlikely that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic would get to 700 career home runs. He only had two home runs the entire month of April, and needed 19 more over the next five months to join the exclusive list that includes Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. However on Friday, Pujols did just that as he belted not one, but two home runs in the same game as the Cardinals spanked the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-0 at Dodger Stadium.
Successful Prediction
In April, Greg Amsinger of MLB Network made the prediction that Pujols would get 700 career home runs, and even successfully predicted the exact date of September 23, 2022 according to Daniel Chavkin of Sports Illustrated.
“Albert’s going to play so much more than people think, he’s a draw and he’s going to be productive. He will reach 700 career home runs. He’s going to hit his 700th career home run on the road, Friday night, in Los Angeles in September, off Clayton Kershaw.”
Ok. It was not off of Kershaw, but Dodgers relief pitcher Phil Bickford of Ventura, California. It was a three-run shot that at the time put the Dodgers up 5-0. The milestone home run scored Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan of Enterprise, Alabama, and Cardinals shortstop Tommy Edman of Pontiac, Michigan.
2022 Statistics
In 2022, Pujols has batted .264 with 21 home runs and 58 runs batted in. He also has scored 35 runs and had 77 hits, 13 doubles, one stolen base, 25 walks, a .336 on base percentage, .524 slugging percentage, 153 total bases, and six sacrifice flies.
Career Statistics
From 2001 to 2022 with the Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers, Pujols has batted .296 with 700 home runs, 2208 runs batted in, 1907 runs scored, 3378 hits, 685 doubles, 16 triples, 117 stolen bases, 1370 walks, 6195 total bases, one sacrifice bunt, 123 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .374, and a slugging percentage of .543.
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