Albert Pujols | |
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![]() Pujols with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008 | |
First baseman / Designated hitter | |
Born: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | January 16, 1980|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 2, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 4, 2022, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .296 |
Hits | 3,384 |
Home runs | 703 |
Runs batted in | 2,218 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈxols], Catalan pronunciation: [puˈʒɔls]; born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "the Machine" (Spanish: La Máquina), Pujols is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Pujols is a highly regarded hitter who has long shown a "combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power."[1][2][3] He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He is a six-time Silver Slugger who has twice led the NL in home runs, and he has also led the NL once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). In 2018, Pujols collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone.[4] During the 2022 season, Pujols returned to the Cardinals and moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs.[5] At the end of the season, he was also the major league career leader in double plays grounded into (426), 3rd in sacrifice flies (123), 5th in games played (3,080) and doubles (686), and 6th in at bats (11,421).[6] He won two Gold Glove awards at first base in his career.