Legendary MLB player Albert Pujols spent over a decade punishing pitchers and establishing himself as one of baseball’s all-time greats as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.
It should be no surprise, then, that Pujols was greeted like a king as he returned to Busch Stadium this past weekend for the first time since he left the team at the end of the 2011 season.
Pujols departed St. Louis for the Angels after winning the 2011 World Series with the team that drafted and developed him into a superstar. The Dominican Republic native accumulated 2 World Series titles, 9 All-Star nods, 3 NL MVP trophies, 6 Silver Slugger awards, and 2 Gold Gloves during his 11 seasons in St. Louis.
When Pujols left St. Louis after the Angels offered him an unprecedented 10-year, $254 million contract, many Cardinals fans were upset that their homegrown star left to go across the country. However, all bad blood appears to have disappeared considering the reception he was given over the weekend.
The most magical moment of the series was when Pujols hammered a trademark moonshot home run off of Cardinals pitcher Daniel Hudson on Saturday, the 646th of his career.
Pujols, who will almost certainly retire after his contract ends in 2021, put a cherry on top of a remarkable career with his special return home, a weekend that he will certainly never forget.
