Los Angeles Angels Star Albert Pujols Becomes Ninth Player to Hit 600 Home Runs

Albert Pujols has joined an elite squad…

The 37-year-old Dominican baseball star, an infielder for the Los Angeles Angels, on Saturday became the ninth Major League Baseball player to hit 600 home runs when he hit a grand slam off the Minnesota TwinsErvin Santana.

Albert Pujols

Pujols is the only player whose 600th home run was a grand slam.

The Angels designated hitter is the first player to reach 600 home runs since Jim Thome in 2011. The six-year gap between Thome’s and Pujols’ reaching the mark is the longest between players reaching 600 home runs since the 31-year gap between Hank Aaron (April 1971) and Barry Bonds (August 2002).

Among hitters with 600 home runs, only Babe Ruth (.342) had a higher career batting average than Pujols’ current .308 career mark.

Only Willie Mays and Aaron had more at-bats at the time of their 600th home runs than Pujols’ current total of 9,341.

Pujols’ overall accomplishments have been reflected in the three MLB MVP Awards he has won.

With his 600th home run, he joined Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez as the only players in major league history with three MVP Awards and 600 home runs.

Pujols (37 years, 138 days) is the fourth-youngest player to reach 600 home runs, behind Rodriguez (35 years, eight days), Ruth (36 years, 196 days) and Aaron (37 years, 81 days).

Pujols ranks second in St. Louis Cardinals history with 445 home runs, trailing Hall of Famer Stan Musial (475). They’re the only two players in Cardinals history who hit more than 300 home runs, and Pujols hit his in half as many seasons with the Cardinals as Musial. They both won three MVPs in Cardinals uniforms.

Pujols is the second player born outside of the United States to hit 600 homers. The other was Sammy Sosa, who had 609. Four of the five top non-U.S.-born home run hitters were from the Dominican Republic (Sosa, Pujols, Manny Ramírez with 555 and David Ortiz with 541). Cuban-born Rafael Palmeiro has the third-most home runs hit by a non-U.S.-born player, with 569.

Saturday’s home run was Pujols’ 78th at Angel Stadium, which ranks third for ballparks at which he has homered. The leaders are Busch Stadium (110) and Busch Stadium II (94).

Cepeda to Have Street Named After Him in San Francisco

Orlando Cepeda will see his name on a street sign soon…

The 79-year-old Puerto Rican retired first baseman, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the San Francisco Giants in April 1958, will receive a ceremonial sign for a street that will be named in his honor in the Bay City.

Orlando Cepeda

It’s all part of the redevelopment of the old Candlestick Park site.

Cepeda, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, played for the Giants from 1958 until 1966.

During a career that lasted sixteen years, he also played with the St. Louis Cardinals, helping the team win the World Series in 1967, as well as the Atlanta Braves (1969–72), Oakland Athletics (1972), Boston Red Sox (1973), and Kansas City Royals.

Other San Francisco iconic athletes to have a name after them include San Francisco 49ers legends Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and coach Bill Walsh, as well as former Giants players Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

Gonzalez Returning to Miami Marlins as Third-Base Coach

Fredi Gonzalez is returning to Miami…

The 52-year-old former professional baseball player and Major League Baseball manager, who was let go from the team in 2010, will return as the Miami Marlins‘ third-base coach, president of baseball operations Michael Hill confirmed Tuesday.

Fredi Gonzalez

Gonzalez was the Marlins’ manager from 2007-10. He finished with a 276-279 record and is atop the Marlins’ all-time list for managerial victories.

The Marlins were 35-36 on June 24, 2010, when owner Jeffrey Loria decided to fire Gonzalez. Loria had expressed playoffs-or-bust expectations in spring training and said “we can do better and be better” when he fired Gonzalez.

Gonzalez and Loria exchanged barbs after he was fired.

In 2012, Gonzalez told the Miami Herald that “there’s not a manager dead or alive that Jeffrey Loria thinks is good enough.” Loria responded by calling Gonzalez’s comments “classless” and saying he was a “colossal failure” as the Marlins’ manager.

In 2011, Gonzalez was named the Atlanta Braves‘ manager, replacing Bobby Cox. He posted a 434-413 record, with two playoff appearances, in Atlanta before he was fired on May 19, after the Braves started the season 9-28.

Gonzalez replaces Lenny Harris as the third-base coach. The Marlins announced after the season that Harris, hitting coach Barry Bonds and bullpen coach Reid Cornelius would not return to manager Don Mattingly‘s staff in 2017.

Mike Pagliarulo was announced as Bonds’ replacement as hitting coach. Pagliarulo was a teammate of Mattingly’s with the New York Yankees from 1984-89.

Pagliarulo will work with assistant hitting coach Frank Menechino, who was with the club last season.

The Marlins haven’t yet named a replacement for Cornelius.

Stanton Hits Record 61 Homers to Win All-Star Home Run Derby

Giancarlo Stanton is this year’s Home Run King…

The 26-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star put on a record display of power at Petco Park during the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night, peppering every landmark from the left field corner to center field.

Giancarlo Stanton

Stanton hit 20 homers in the final round to beat out defending champion Todd Frazier of the Chicago White Sox. Overall, the Miami Marlins slugger hit a record 61, shattering the single-night mark of 41 by Bobby Abreu in 2005.

Stanton’s impressive shots hit the top level of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in the left-field corner and the top of the batter’s eye in center field.

He sent several balls just below the giant scoreboard high atop the left-field stands and several over the bullpens in left-center.

“For sure, being on the West Coast and taking the flight out here just for this, you know. I figure it’s a waste if I don’t bring this bad boy home,” Stanton said, hoisting the trophy.

The three-time All-Star is not on the National League roster for Tuesday night’s game after batting .233 with 20 homers and 50 RBIs before the break.

“I had a great time. I had a blast.”

His longest shot was estimated at 497 feet. He hit the eight longest homers of the competition and 20 of the 21 deepest drives.

“When I get a few in a row I would kind of bump it up 5 to 10 percent,” he said. “But most the time I stuck at 80-90 percent. I knew I could do it endurance-wise. I was just hoping my swing didn’t fall about.”

Stanton can defend his title at home next year when the Marlins host the All-Star Game.

“That is where I got my childhood memories, watching the Home Run Derby as a kid,” said Stanton, who’s from Los Angeles.

“Maybe some kids are watching me. I would like to return that.”

Stanton is baseball’s highest-paid player with a $325 million, 13-year deal. His new hitting coach is home run king Barry Bonds.

Stanton hit 24 homers in the first round to eliminate the Seattle MarinersRobinson Cano (seven) and 17 in the semifinals to knock out Mark Trumbo (14) of the Baltimore Orioles.

Frazier hit 13 in the first round to beat Carlos Gonzalez (12) of the Colorado Rockies, and 16 in the semifinals to eliminate Adam Duvall (15) of the Reds.

Ortiz Hits Two Home Runs to Blast into the MLB History Books

David Ortiz has officially earned his place in the annals of Major League Baseball history.

The Dominican professional baseball player, nicknamed “Big Papi,” has become the 27th player in MLB history to reach the 500-home run threshold.

David Ortiz

Ortiz, a designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox, vaulted into the 500 club after hitting two home runs Saturday night in the team’s 10-4 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

Ortiz is also the fourth player in the team’s history, and the fourth Dominican Republic native to surpass the 500 mark in his career.

Ortiz hit No. 499, a three-run home run, in the first inning off Rays left-hander Matt Moore, driving a 1-2 fastball over the right-field fence.

After popping out to short center field on a 3-0 pitch in the third inning, Ortiz led off the fifth inning against Moore, greeted by chants of “Let’s go, Papi,” and drove a 2-2 pitch into the seats.

Ortiz’s teammates poured out of the dugout and the relief pitchers ran in from the bullpen to greet him after he jogged slowly around the bases, stepped on home plate, brought his fingers to his lips, and then pointed to the sky.

Ortiz, just 10 weeks shy of his 40th birthday, achieved the milestone with a three-month power surge that has been matched only twice by a player of his age or older, Barry Bonds and Henry Aaron, over a full season.

On June 10, Ortiz had just six home runs and was batting .219, a performance that invited wide speculation that his celebrated career was winding down. Among qualified designated hitters in the American League, Ortiz ranked last in most major categories.

Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry acknowledged the skeptics.

“The guy, he’s the best hitter I’ve seen for the Red Sox for a long time,” Henry said at the time. “He’s not in his prime. He’s not going to hit 50 home runs. But is he going to hit 30? It doesn’t look like it this year. Is he getting older? Yes. But I don’t think any of us know [if the end is nearing].”

Even Ortiz revealed a sliver of doubt.

“Everybody’s time is up at some point,” he said. “I don’t think that’s my problem, though. I’ll keep on trying like I normally do.”

With 28 home runs in the span of just 273 at-bats, Ortiz erased all doubts that he’ll return in 2016 for his 20th season in the big leagues, the past 13 with the Red Sox.

He joins Manny Ramirez, Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams as Red Sox players who have hit 500 home runs, and Sammy Sosa, Ramirez and Albert Pujols as fellow Dominicans who have reached that threshold.

Ortiz also solidified his case for induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame, a place which only this past year opened its doors to a second Dominican player, Ortiz’s former Boston teammate Pedro Martinez, and has historically resisted the inclusion of designated hitters.

Sandoval Makes History with Three Homers in World Series Game 1

Pablo Sandoval is the Kung (Fu Panda) of the diamond at the World Series

The 26-year-old baseball star hit three home runs in his first three at-bats to lead the San Francisco Giants to an 8-3 victory on Wednesday night over the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series.

Pablo Sandoval

Sandoval is only the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit three home runs in a World Series game, after Albert Pujols last year, Reggie Jackson in 1977 and Babe Ruth, who did it in 1926 and 1928.

Of the players, Sandoval is the only one to homer in his first three at-bats of the game.

In addition, Sandoval added a single in the seventh inning to improve to 4-for-4 on the night.

Sandoval homered off Justin Verlander in the first and third innings, then got to reliever Al Alburquerque in the fifth.

In the first inning, Sandoval connected on a high 95 mph pitch with an 0-2 count and sent the ball just over the wall in right-center. Then, on the next pitch after a mound visit by Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones in the third, Sandoval hit a two-run, opposite-field drive into the seats in left for a 4-0 lead. Verlander simply said, “Wow!”

In July, Sandoval hit the first bases-loaded triple in All-Star Game history off Verlander, the reigning American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner.

Sandoval’s third homer was a solo shot to center field with one out and nobody on in the fifth.

Sandoval is the 10th player in major league history to hit two or more home runs in the first game of the World Series. He has an RBI in six straight postseason games, breaking the team record for longest streak that he previously shared with Barry Bonds.

Winning by home run is unusual for the Giants, whose 103 home runs were last in the major leagues. The only other three-homer game at the ballpark was by the Los Angeles DodgersKevin Elster in the very first opener, in 2001. The last three-homer game by a Giant was Aubrey Huff at St. Louis in June 2011.

Beltran Makes Baseball History

St. Louis CardinalsCarlos Beltran’s name will appear in baseball’s history books from now on…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican baseball star has become the first switch-hitter in baseball to have notched 300 stolen bases and 300 home runs.

Carlos Beltran

Beltran stole second base during Friday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals, the team that drafted him as a teenager out of Puerto Rico.

It was his seventh swipe of the season and his 300th in 343 attempts.

Play was stopped and second base was pulled to celebrate.

Only eight players have reached the 300-300 club. Barry Bonds and his father Bobby Bonds, Andre Dawson, Steve Finley and the “Say Hey Kid” Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez and Reggie Sanders.

“I just have to thank God for the opportunity of being able to play this game for a long time. All the glory is for him,” the 35-year-old outfielder said according to MLB.com.

Beltran currently leads the National League with 19 homers.