Jun 7, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (5) looks on during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
MLBBy Michael Dixon on

The legendary Albert Pujols continued to work his way up Major League Baseball’s all-time hit list on Tuesday, but not before a hilarious umpire mistake.

Leading off the fourth inning for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols grounded a 1-2 pitch into left field for a single. It was hit No. 3,320 in the illustrious career of Pujols, moving him past Paul Molitor on the all-time list, alone into ninth place.

The hit came three pitches after a mistake from home plate umpire, Nick Mahrley.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs delivered a pitch to Pujols which Mahrley called a strike. Mahrley’s call was correct. The ball was in the strike zone. But Mahrley also rang Pujols up on the pitch — which was only Strike 2.

This mistake doesn’t quite register on the same level as some of the others made by MLB umpires this season. It was corrected and unlike some other clerical errors this season, a long review was not needed to get things right.

Still, the gaffe did not go unnoticed or uncriticized by baseball fans, who have routinely been baffled by the mistakes of umpires all year.

Fortunately, the brief mistake did not keep people from praising Pujols for his tremendous achievement.

https://twitter.com/WilliamLeeRich/status/1534333235433558029

Next on the list is another Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski. Pujols is 99 hits shy of Yaz, who retired with 3,419 hits.

Pujols’ hit on Tuesday was only his 19th of the season. So, if he’s going to get the 100 more hits needed to pass Yastrzemski, he’d have to pick his pace way up. Pujols can do that, but it won’t be easy. It would help if umpires adhered to the customary practice of “three strikes and you’re out” for the remainder of his at-bats.

[St. Louis Cardinals, Welcome to the Ump Show]

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