Albert Pujols

Lore & Background

Pujols was a highly regarded hitter who possessed a "combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power." He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in , , and and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He was a six-time Silver Slugger and won two Gold Glove awards at first base in his career. Pujols twice led the NL in home runs and once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). Pujols surpassed 3,000 career hits, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone. During his final season, Pujols moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs.

Reader's Guide

Pujols was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, mostly by his grandmother, America Pujols, and 10 of his uncles and aunts. He is an only child. His father, Bienvenido Pujols, was a softball pitcher who struggled with alcoholism. Pujols often had to take his father home when he got drunk following games.

Growing up, Pujols practiced baseball using limes for balls and a milk carton for a glove. Pujols, his father, and his grandmother immigrated in 1996 to Washington Heights in New York City, where Pujols witnessed a shooting at a bodega. Partly because of the shooting, they moved two months later to Independence, Missouri, to join some relatives. Pujols played baseball at Fort Osage High School in Independence and was named an All-State athlete twice.

As a senior, he was walked 55 times intentionally, but he still hit eight home runs in 33 at-bats. One of his home runs travelled 450 ft. After graduating from high school a semester early in December 1998, he was given a baseball scholarship to Maple Woods Community College. Pujols hit a grand slam and turned an unassisted triple play in the first game of his only college season.

Playing shortstop, he batted .461 with 22 home runs as a freshman before deciding to enter the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Few teams were interested in Pujols because of uncertainty about his age, which position he would play, and his build. Tampa Bay Rays scout Fernando Arango recommended that his team sign Pujols, and quit his job when Tampa Bay failed to do so. Pujols was not drafted until the 13th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, when the St. Louis Cardinals selected him with the 402nd overall pick.

Pujols initially turned down a $10,000 bonus and spent the summer playing for the Hays Larks of the Jayhawk Collegiate League (a summer league in the National Baseball Congress). When the Cardinals increased their bonus offer to $60,000, he signed. Pujols began his minor league career in 2000 playing third base with the Peoria Chiefs of the single-A Midwest League. He batted .324 with 128 hits, 32 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs and 84 RBI, in 109 games. He was voted the league's Most Valuable Player and named to the All-Star team.