Mr. Albert Pujols has retired, leaving the field for the last time for a pinch runner after slamming a rocket down the third base line in his last at bat as the Cardinals were eliminated by the Phillies. Pujols is one of my favorite ballplayers of all time. His massive skill has something to do with it, as the first half of his career (and the last half of his final season) was as good as anyone has ever done it. But he has also always been a good guy to my eye. An excellent teammate, a hard worker and great off the field too (If you don't know about the Pujols Family Foundation and their work with Downs Syndrome, you should look into it). If anyone has some bad memories about Pujols, don't tell me! I know nobody is perfect, but I prefer to remember him as I do now.
Here are my three favorite Pujols moments:
3. In the only live baseball game my son ever attended with me, Pujols doubled, singled and stole a base. We were hoping for a home run ball, but the closest we got was a Matt Holliday blast about 15 seats away from us.
2. Like most people, I figured there was no chance for Albert to make it to 700 this year. But as he got closer and closer, the excitement built. #2 is the day he hit both #699 and #700 in the same day.
1. Oct 17 2005 - the train tracks homer - Down to their final out of the season in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, down 4-2, against Brad Lidge, Pujols launched a monster home run to left field, landing on the train tracks at the top of the stadium to win the game. It wasn't a walk off, which would of been better, because the Astros were the home team. But it was epic anyway!
Honorable mention - The 2022 Home Run Derby. If you didn't watch, go find it on YouTube. I figured the old man had no chance. But he kept getting chances and barely getting through. It was a lot of fun to watch.
I keep most of the Pujols cards I come across. In fact, he has the second highest card count of anyone in my collection after McGwire. But I do have a few "non-keepers" of Albert that I am willing to send to a good home in celebration of his great career.
So if you want a chance at these Pujols cards, leave a comment with your personal favorite Pujols moment, and I will random them off to one of the commenters. One winner, and the contest closes at 9PM Pacific time on Sunday October 16th.
Thanks!
Didn't really get to see Pujols a whole lot but it was neat seeing all the standing ovations he got, even at the American League parks. I don't have a single favourite moment I guess, just some memories
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go an odd way here...the first memory which comes to mind is when Jack Clark accused him of steroid use, and Pujols responded very strongly to it. I do believe Albert was always clean and Clark was wrong.
ReplyDeleteAlso happy to say that I got to see Pujols play in person in Game 6 of the 2006 NLCS. Happily my Mets won that night, although they lost the series the next night.
My favorite moment was when I found he was going to the Dodgers! What a weird, wonderful moment.
ReplyDeletePujols was a threat to my Braves continuously, I'd have to say this year was probably the most memorable, like this summer in back to back extra inning games (vs Cubs) taking it to the seats for walk off wins.
ReplyDeleteOne day in 2019, an Angels fan with special needs asked Pujols for an autograph, but Pujols took off his jersey from the game, signed it, and gave it to the fan. That's got to be my favorite Pujols moment, although his most memorable playing feats, in my opinion, were all listed off in your post :)
ReplyDeleteAlbert Pujols has been a favorite of mine from early in his career. I have quite a collection of his cards but always look to add more to it. He had so many signature moments in his career. The top one for me was Game 3 of the 2011 World Series when he hit three home runs. Each one was more majestic than the previous one. This was definitely a signature moment in a Hall of Fame career.
ReplyDeleteI'll go with #700. I was worried we might have another Al Kaline situation where a "SO CLOSE!" counting stat messes with fan's/collector's OCD forever. I took a celebratory look thru my Pujols PC when he made it.. I've got a few random refractors that look nice, but overall the PC doesn't have many notable highlights. Bummer I was out of the hobby when he came up, so I don't have many cards from his early years.. He was an Angel by the time I started PCing him.
ReplyDeleteOK, comments closed, I will randomize and post the results tomorrow!
ReplyDelete#700 stands out because it capped off a great season of baseball.
ReplyDelete