Albert Pujols 700 House Runs: Legend of Cardinals Reaches Rare Milestone with Bi-Night HR vs. Dodgers

St. Louis Cardinals Legend Albert Pujols became the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to reach 700 points at home Friday night in a twosome effort against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pujols joins a distinguished company in the form of some of the most prolific players the game has ever seen: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

The Pujols made their first home career at 699 in the third inning:

Then, on the fourth, Pujols were tied to number 700.

That was the night of five days before the fifth inning.

The Pujols entered the season with the Cardinals knowing it was his last before retiring. He never shied away from announcing that he was playing in 2022 and not one year back, despite the possibility of him getting close to 700 and still falling short. It’s actually somewhat of a surprise that he’s reached this point. It took an increase in the second half.

Pujols had only six runs in the first half. He now has 15 since the All-Star break. In the process, he overtook Alex Rodriguez – who scored 696 home runs – to finish fourth on the all-time list. Reaching 700 does not move Pujols on the professional leaderboard; It’s just roughly a pretty number. We celebrate things like 500 home runs, 3000 home runs, 3000 hard hits and the like, so being the fourth person to score 700 home runs is a pretty significant accomplishment.

The Pujols, like Aaron, did not have a 50-season Homer. Hit at least 40 seven times. Only Aaron, Ruth, A Rod, Bonds, Harmon, and Kylebro did so often. He topped 30 in 14 of 22 years, behind Aaron and Ai Rudd. Going by the Over-20s this season, that makes 18 of 22 he has at least 20 long balls. He is ahead of Frank Robinson and Willie Maes, who have had 17 of 20 seasons each, and only tracks Aaron and Bonds.

Obviously, it’s not just about household chores. Pujols is 10th in hits (over 3000, obviously), 5th in doubles, 3rd in RBI (behind Aaron and Ruth), 12th in kicks and second in total bases (Aaron).

However, the home run is the most popular stat in baseball because it is the most impactful single score that can occur in a baseball game. Pujols has been one of the best companies in history at maximizing this front.