Albert Pujols’ name is in the history books, alongside Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.
The Cardinals slugger homered twice against the Dodgers on Friday, the 699th and 700th long-balls of his 22-season MLB career.
Pujols joined Ruth (714), Aaron (755) Barry Bonds (762) in the ultra-exclusive club.
In the top of the third inning, the 42-year-old sent a pitch from Los Angeles’ Andrew Heaney 434 feet into the stands for a 2-0 Cardinals lead and his 20th homer of the season.
The wait for No. 700 didn’t take long.
Pujols’ milestone home came one inning later, a three-run shot off reliever Phil Bickford for a 5-0 St. Louis lead.
He now has 18 20-homer seasons, behind only Aaron (20) and Bonds (19) in MLB history, with Bonds the only other player to have hit 20 homers after the age of 42. He and Aaron are the only two players to have achieved 3,000 hits and 700 homers.
The 42-year-old has experienced a statistical renaissance in the second half of the season, slashing .313/.377/.657 with 13 homers, 33 RBIs and a 1.034 OPS in his last 47 games, and plans to retire at season’s end.
“It’s just being out there and contributing to this ballclub and this organization,” Pujols said after hitting No. 698 against the Reds in Sept. 17. “I think just getting every opportunity that I’ve been getting, especially lately, and just trying to help this ballclub to win.”
With 11 games to play, Pujols is likely to add a few more homers to his Hall of Fame career.
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