Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the St. Louis Cardinals‘ Albert Pujols will participate in the 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby next Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
BREAKING: Albert Pujols will participate in the 2022 Home Run Derby, sources tell @TheAthletic https://t.co/N07rBqGkLI
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) July 11, 2022
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced last Friday that Pujols and the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera would participate in the All-Star Game as legacy selections.
Pujols is a three-time MVP and two-time World Series champion, and he’s now an 11-time All-Star Game selection. He has 684 career home runs and entered play on Monday with a .916 career OPS.
And on Monday night in the Cardinals’ game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Pujols became No. 3 on MLB’s all-time extra-base hits list — behind only Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds — with this double:
.@PujolsFive now has the third-most extra-base hits in MLB history. 👏
(MLB x @budweiserusa) pic.twitter.com/nnCvKYraRQ
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2022
Albert Pujols missed his 685th career homer by mere inches.
It falls for a double, his 1,378th career extra-base hit. That passes Stan Musial for third place all-time in MLB history. Remarkable. #STLCards
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) July 12, 2022
It’s been an incredible career for Pujols that will land him in the Baseball Hall of Fame one day.
But Pujols is now a 42-year-old with five homers and a .674 OPS in 2022 (his final season), and he’s many years removed from being an above-average major-league hitter. So, the announcement of his Home Run Derby participation has drawn very mixed reactions from baseball fans.
Here’s a sampling of how the baseball world has reacted to the news that Pujols will in the Home Run Derby:
The oldest HR Derby participants were 39-year-olds Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro in 2004, with Bonds technically oldest by yrs-days age
42-year-old Albert Pujols, whose name has been reported, would be by far the oldest
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 12, 2022
Albert Pujols will appear in the Home Run Derby for the 5th time in his career.
He joins this list of players to compete 5+ times: Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Prince Fielder, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and David Ortiz.
The previous all won at least once — Pujols has not. pic.twitter.com/4s4o1TPgyn
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 12, 2022
We have a new fan favorite to win the Home Run Derby! Fabulous. https://t.co/SnNF3uPcfg
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 12, 2022
oh heck yeah https://t.co/z8MwN3wXfQ
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 11, 2022
Pujols doing the Home Run Derby in 2022 is awesome
— Steve Perrault (@Steve_Perrault) July 11, 2022
Albert Pujols is a legend, but he doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star nor does he belong in the Home Run Derby.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) July 11, 2022
Congrats to all the kids in the outfield during Pujols' round, they're going to snag so many pop-ups https://t.co/7BPFvpE34S
— Jon Tayler, Top 0.1% On OnlyJons (@JATayler) July 12, 2022
Hopefully whatever pitcher is throwing to Pujols in the HRD is a lefty
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 12, 2022
When you have a chance to put a 42 year old man with 5 home runs in the derby over people that actually deserve the chance, you just have to do it!
— Corey Freedman (@corey_cubs) July 12, 2022
Albert Pujols after competing in the Home Run Derby AND the All-Star Game pic.twitter.com/x2DNrwdFUc
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) July 11, 2022
Albert Pujols participating in the 2022 Home Run Derby pic.twitter.com/4yfJUW0eDf
— Art Vandelay (@KingFavre) July 12, 2022
