Albert Pujols turned back the hands of time Friday night as he slugged his way into the record books.
The St. Louis Cardinals slugger crushed home runs in the third and fourth innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving him 700 career home runs.
Home run No. 700, a three-run shot, came off Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford.
ALBERT PUJOLS HAS DONE IT! 👑 👏
7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ CAREER HOME RUNS FOR ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS
(via @SNstats)pic.twitter.com/fF0L2VnvTq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2022
That blast came just came just one inning after Pujols went deep with a two-run homer off Dodgers starter Andrew Heaney.
ALBERT PUJOLS HITS NO. 6️⃣9️⃣9️⃣ TO THE 🌕‼️
JUST ONE AWAY FROM 700 👏
(via @SNstats)pic.twitter.com/ONlhXcIKjm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2022
In his final season, the 42-year-old Pujols’ 700th home run puts him in very elite company. Only Babe Ruth, with 714 home runs, Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) have eclipsed the 700 mark.
The 11-time all-star also now has 21 home runs on the season. He’s hit 20 or more 18 times, a feat achieved only by Aaron (20) and Bonds (19).
Hardly anyone could have predicted such an offensive explosion from Pujols as he nears the end of his career.
He had not hit 20 homers in a season since he posted 23 in 2019, and his OPS+ had been below average in the past five seasons. But he’s rebounded in a big way this year, and has come on especially strong lately, as evidenced by Friday night.
The baseball world turned to Twitter to congratulate Pujols on reaching the historic milestone.
OVER 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING FOR ALBERT PUJOLS 🙌 pic.twitter.com/1M3eMfJElL
— ESPN (@espn) September 24, 2022
The Machine. El Hombre. 700.
Albert Pujols is the greatest hitter I've seen in person. I was fortunate enough to see him dozens of times in his prime in STL. Absolutely terrifying at the plate.
Super happy for him to end his career on such a high note.#Pujols700 https://t.co/BOeuB3Z73z
— Micah Rumsey (@MicahRumsey) September 24, 2022
ALBERT PUJOLS WITH HIS SECOND HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT HAS JOINED THE 700 HOME RUN CLUB!! FIRST BALLOT HALL OF FAMER!! pic.twitter.com/PKxxqujsjG
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) September 24, 2022
⭐ LEGENDARY ⭐
ALBERT PUJOLS JOINS THE 700 HOME RUN CLUB 🤩 @PujolsFive pic.twitter.com/XISwup0qzb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2022
Mr. 700, #AlbertPujols! pic.twitter.com/ccQ4DQcXV0
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 24, 2022
El. Frickin'. Hombre. https://t.co/7ZGg3kRQc5
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) September 24, 2022
HE DID IT!!! HE DID IT!! ALBERT PUJOLS HAS HIT 700 CAREER HOME RUNS!!
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) September 24, 2022