1980
Born January 16, 1980
Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, D.R.
Albert Pujols Marquee
b. January 16, 1980 · St. Louis Cardinals 2001–2011, 2022, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2012–2021, Los Angeles Dodgers 2021
In each of his first ten seasons he hit at least 32 home runs and drove in at least 103 runs. He led the National League in runs five times in that stretch, in home runs in 2009 and 2010, and in hits, doubles and runs batted in once each. He won the Most Valuable Player award in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
He batted .296 across 22 seasons with 686 doubles, and he is one of four men in the record with 3,000 hits and 600 home runs, alongside Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez. His 3,000th hit was a single in Seattle on May 4, 2018. He was Rookie of the Year in 2001 and an All-Star in eleven seasons.
He left St. Louis for the Angels after 2011 and stayed ten seasons, the last finished with the Dodgers. Back in a Cardinals uniform in 2022, at 42, he hit 24 home runs to end on 703, behind only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. He has not yet appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 11 | 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2022 |
| Player of the Week | 11 | 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2022 |
| Silver Slugger | 6 | 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Player of the Month | 5 | 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Player | 3 | 2003, 2008, 2009 |
| MLB Players Choice Player of the Year | 3 | 2003, 2008, 2009 |
| Most Valuable Player | 3 | 2005, 2008, 2009 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 3 | 2003, 2004, 2005 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 3 | 2003, 2008, 2009 |
| Gold Glove | 2 | 2006, 2010 |
| Hank Aaron Award | 2 | 2003, 2009 |
| This Year in Baseball Hitter of the Year | 2 | 2003, 2008 |
| Comeback Player of the Year | 1 | 2022 |
| Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | 1 | 2009 |
| MLB Players Choice Man of the Year | 1 | 2006 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie | 1 | 2001 |
| NLCS MVP | 1 | 2004 |
| Roberto Clemente Award | 1 | 2008 |
| Rookie of the Month | 1 | 2001 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 | 2001 |
| This Year in Baseball Performance of the Year | 1 | 2006 |
| The Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year | 1 | 2001 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | STL | 161 | 590 | 112 | 194 | 47 | 4 | 37 | 130 | 69 | 93 | 1 | .329 |
| 2002 | STL | 157 | 590 | 118 | 185 | 40 | 2 | 34 | 127 | 72 | 69 | 2 | .314 |
| 2003 | STL | 157 | 591 | 137 | 212 | 51 | 1 | 43 | 124 | 79 | 65 | 5 | .359 |
| 2004 | STL | 154 | 592 | 133 | 196 | 51 | 2 | 46 | 123 | 84 | 52 | 5 | .331 |
| 2005 | STL | 161 | 591 | 129 | 195 | 38 | 2 | 41 | 117 | 97 | 65 | 16 | .330 |
| 2006 | STL | 143 | 535 | 119 | 177 | 33 | 1 | 49 | 137 | 92 | 50 | 7 | .331 |
| 2007 | STL | 158 | 565 | 99 | 185 | 38 | 1 | 32 | 103 | 99 | 58 | 2 | .327 |
| 2008 | STL | 148 | 524 | 100 | 187 | 44 | 0 | 37 | 116 | 104 | 54 | 7 | .357 |
| 2009 | STL | 160 | 568 | 124 | 186 | 45 | 1 | 47 | 135 | 115 | 64 | 16 | .327 |
| 2010 | STL | 159 | 587 | 115 | 183 | 39 | 1 | 42 | 118 | 103 | 76 | 14 | .312 |
| 2011 | STL | 147 | 579 | 105 | 173 | 29 | 0 | 37 | 99 | 61 | 58 | 9 | .299 |
| 2012 | LAA | 154 | 607 | 85 | 173 | 50 | 0 | 30 | 105 | 52 | 76 | 8 | .285 |
| 2013 | LAA | 99 | 391 | 49 | 101 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 64 | 40 | 55 | 1 | .258 |
| 2014 | LAA | 159 | 633 | 89 | 172 | 37 | 1 | 28 | 105 | 48 | 71 | 5 | .272 |
| 2015 | LAA | 157 | 602 | 85 | 147 | 22 | 0 | 40 | 95 | 50 | 72 | 5 | .244 |
| 2016 | LAA | 152 | 593 | 71 | 159 | 19 | 0 | 31 | 119 | 49 | 75 | 4 | .268 |
| 2017 | LAA | 149 | 593 | 53 | 143 | 17 | 0 | 23 | 101 | 37 | 93 | 3 | .241 |
| 2018 | LAA | 117 | 465 | 50 | 114 | 20 | 0 | 19 | 64 | 28 | 65 | 1 | .245 |
| 2019 | LAA | 131 | 491 | 55 | 120 | 22 | 0 | 23 | 93 | 43 | 68 | 3 | .244 |
| 2020 | LAA | 39 | 152 | 15 | 34 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 9 | 25 | 0 | .224 |
| 2021 | LAA/LAD | 109 | 275 | 29 | 65 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 50 | 14 | 45 | 2 | .236 |
| 2022 | STL | 109 | 307 | 42 | 83 | 14 | 0 | 24 | 68 | 28 | 55 | 1 | .270 |
| Career | — | 3080 | 11421 | 1914 | 3384 | 686 | 16 | 703 | 2218 | 1373 | 1404 | 117 | .296 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | STL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 36.00 |
| Career | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 36.00 |
On this day & linked events
2001
Major-league debut: Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols made a major-league debut on April 2, 2001.
2004
Albert Pujols's Three-Home-Run Game, 2004
Albert Pujols hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs on July 20, 2004.
2006
Albert Pujols's Three-Home-Run Game, 2006
Albert Pujols hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Cincinnati Reds on April 16, 2006.
2006
Albert Pujols's Three-Home-Run Game, 2006
Albert Pujols hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 3, 2006.
2010
Albert Pujols's Three-Home-Run Game, 2010
Albert Pujols hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs on May 30, 2010.
2018
Albert Pujols's 3,000th Hit
Albert Pujols singles twice in Seattle for his 3,000th hit, joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in reaching both 3,000 hits and 600 home runs.
2022
Final major-league game: Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols played a final major-league game on October 4, 2022.