Tag Archives: Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols Sets MLB Record for Career Hits by a Foreign-Born Player

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Albert Pujolsis making Major League Baseballhistory…

The 39-year-old Dominican professional baseball player, a first baseman and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels, had two hits and three RBIs during Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, setting the MLB record for career hits by a foreign-born player.

Albert Pujols

“I mean, what more can we say? He’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game, one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. “And he’s going to pass some other names I’m sure that are very well known and have plaques hanging in Cooperstown.”

Pujols had an RBI single in the 4th inning. His 3,167th hit moved him past fellow Dominican Republic native Adrian Beltre (3,166) and into sole possession of 15th place for career hits.

“He just keeps doing what he does,” said Dillon Peters, who allowed two runs in six innings while striking out six after an erratic start. “Everybody here looks up to him, and it’s just awesome to watch him chase his dream and chase all the milestones he’s already overcome. And there’s going to be more to come.”

Pujols drove in Los Angeles’ first run with his record-setting single, helping spark the struggling Angels to their fifth win in the past 18 games. 

“Forget about the record. It’s my job to come here every night and try to help this ball club to win when I can,” Pujols said. “With my defense or with my offense when I get that opportunity, and that’s what I did tonight. It was an effort where everybody contributed.”

Houston Astros Rookie Yordan Alvarez Makes MLB RBI History

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He may be a rookie, but Yordan Alvarez is already making Major League Baseball history…

The 22-year-old Cuban professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Houston Astros homered and knocked in a pair of runs on Monday in an 11-1 winover the Oakland A’s, making him the first player to have 35 RBIs in his first 30 career games since runs batted in became an official statistic in 1920.

Yordan Alvarez

Alvarez has surpassed Albert Pujols, who had 34 RBIs in his first 30 games with the St. Louis Cardinalsin 2001.

“I was very happy and very grateful [about the record], something I just found out about when I got here to the clubhouse,” Alvarez said through an interpreter.

“Especially with [Pujols], it’s an honor and a privilege. When we were in Anaheim, I spoke with him, and he gave me a lot of advice, a lot of information to help me out.”

The left-handed slugger is hitting .342 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs since he made his MLB debut with the Astros on June 9. 

At the time, he was tearing up the Pacific Coast League, with 23 home runs and 71 RBIs in 56 games.

Alvarez was one of three Cuban-born Astros players — along with Yuli Gurriel and Aledmys Diaz— to homer in the 11-1 trouncing of the A’s on Monday. That had happened only once before in MLB history, when Jose Abreu, Alexei Ramírez and Dayan Viciedoall homered for the Chicago White Sox in 2014.

Pete Alonso Sets National League Rookie Record with 68 RBIs Before the All-Star Break

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Pete Alonso may be a rookie, but he’s already makin’ a name for himself in Major League Baseball…

The 24-year-old part-Spanish American professional baseball player and New York Mets first baseman, ready to play in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Cleveland, has set the National League rookie record with 68 RBIs before the break.

Pete Alonso

He hit his 30th home run of the season Sunday in an 8-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, driving in two runs with the shot, to set the mark.

He was tied with Albert Pujols, who had 66 for the St. Louis Cardinalsin 2001. Walt Droposet the major league mark of 83 for the Boston Red Soxin 1950.

His 30 home runs are tied for the second most by a rookie in major league history before the All-Star break. The New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge also hit 30 in 2017. Mark McGwireholds the major league record, with 33 for the Oakland Athletics in 1987 before the break.

Detroit Tigers Designated Hitter Victor Martinez Registers 2,000th Career Hit

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And the hits just keep coming for Victor Martinez…

The 38-year-old Venezuelan baseball player, a designated hitter and first baseman for the Detroit Tigers, reached 2,000 career hits on Friday night.

Victor Martinez

Martinez, heard the crowd roar and felt his heart swell, as he picked up the milestone hit on the same field where he began his MLB career, against the franchise that signed him as a teenager out of Venezuela.

Detroit’s switch-hitter singled in the second inning off Cleveland Indians‘ Carlos Carrasco to reach the plateau. After reaching first base, Martinez received a lengthy standing ovation from the large Cleveland crowd, fans that adored him during his eight seasons with the Indians from 2002-09.

Martinez hugged Detroit first-base coach Omar Vizquel, his teammate in Cleveland and a fellow Venezuelan, before tipping his cap to the crowd. Players on both benches applauded and the game was briefly halted to acknowledge the feat.

“It’s special to have it done here,” Martinez said following the Tigers’ 11-2 loss. “For me, it was even better. Nothing against the Indians, I feel like it’s where everything started for me. I will always remember this day, until I die. What the fans did to me with that ovation. It made me feel so proud and so good that they stand up for me. I just want to let them know too that I will always have the Indians in my heart, always.”

Martinez is the ninth active player to reach 2,000 hits, joining Ichiro Suzuki, Adrian Beltre, Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltran, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Matt Holliday and Jose Reyes.

To attain the milestone in Cleveland and with Vizquel, the career hits leader among Venezuelan-born players, at his side made it even more meaningful for Martinez.

“He congratulated me and told me it was awesome, and at the same time, I wasn’t hearing and stuff,” Martinez said. “It was a pretty cool moment.”

Martinez was a three-time All-Star with the Indians, who signed him in 1996. He broke down in tears when Cleveland traded him to the Boston Red Sox at the deadline in 2009 for three pitchers.

And although he’s had a long run with the Tigers, Cleveland will remain dear to Martinez.

“This is my seventh year in Detroit, but this was a place that I called home, and I’m always going to have Cleveland in my heart,” he said. “It was the team that gave me a chance to be a professional baseball player, gave me a chance to become a major leaguer. It’s a pretty special place.”

Martinez, too, is a pretty special hitter.

He entered the season with a .301 career average and the five-time All-Star has been one of the game’s toughest outs from the day he broke into the big leagues.

“There aren’t a lot of people who can say they got 2,000 major league hits,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “He probably grinded out every single one of those at-bats to get those hits. It’s something he should be proud of.”

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

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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 Twins’ Ervin 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).

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

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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.

Pujols to Participate in This Year’s All-Star Home Run Derby

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Albert Pujols is coming out swinging…

The 35-year-old Dominican professional baseball player has announced that he’ll take part in this year’s All-Star Home Run Derby.

Albert Pujols

Pujols, the Los Angeles Angels‘ first baseman, says he talked with Major League Baseball and confirmed he’ll be one of the hitters for the event Monday in Cincinnati.

The All-Star Game is the next night.

“I’m going to give it one last chance,” Pujols said Tuesday. “The good thing with Major League Baseball is they allow us to bring our kids onto the field on practice day so they’ll be able to enjoy that. They’ll have a great time and meet the players they get to watch every day.”

Pujols said he wanted to be a part of the competition after being picked for the AL All-Star team this week. He’ll start in place of Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, who went on the disabled list for the first time in his career with a strained calf.

Pujols declined to be in the Home Run Derby last year because he wasn’t playing in the All-Star Game.

“You want to be in the game,” he said. “That’s the most important thing because you want to be able to have a chance to help the American League have home field advantage.”

This will be Pujols’ fourth time competing in the Home Run Derby. He reached the semifinal in 2003, 2007 and 2009 but has never won the event.

He said he’s looking forward to the new format. Instead of being given a number of outs per round each player will have five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. The clock will stop after home run balls land in the final minute.

Players can earn an extra minute if they hit two home runs that land 420 feet or more and 30 seconds for each blast that lands 475 feet or more. The maximum bonus time a player can get is 1:30.

“If anything it’ll be better because you don’t have to sit around so much like you did in the past,” he said. “If I hit in the first round we had to wait until everybody hit and sometimes you sat an hour and a half, two hours.”

Pujols entered Tuesday leading the American League with 25 home runs.

Pujols Moves Up On the All-Time Home Run List with 522nd Homer

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Albert Pujols is slamming his way up the career home run list…

The 35-year-old Dominican baseball star hit his 522nd home run, breaking a tie with Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and Frank Thomas for 18th place on the all-time homer list.

Albert Pujols

The Los Angeles Angels first baseman connected in the first inning of his team’s 9-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

“Obviously, it’s a great accomplishment, man, but it’s really disappointing,” Pujols said. “We got swept by a great ballclub. I’ve told you guys my whole career, that at the end of my career I’m going to enjoy it a little bit more. But when I’m playing baseball, my goal is to try to help this ballclub to win.”

Pujols’ second homer of the season came off Yordano Ventura. The young Royals ace became the 334th different pitcher the three-time National League MVP and nine-time Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star has homered against during his 15-year career.

Pujols’ next target on the home run list is Jimmie Foxx at 534.

Sandoval Makes History with Three Homers in World Series Game 1

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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 Dodgers‘ Kevin 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.

Soler to Sign with the Chicago Cubs…

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Jorge Soler is ready to play professional ball in the United States…

The 20-year-old Cuban baseball star, who defected from his native country last year, has reached a verbal agreement with the Chicago Cubs on a nine-year contract worth $30 million dollars, according to USA Today.

Jorge Soler

The 6-foot 3, 225-pound power hitter, who was declared a free agent last week, is expected to be a right fielder with five-tool potential.

The Cubs outbid several large-market teams, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs, who never bid on free agents like first basemen Albert Pujols last winter, believe Soler will be ready for the big leagues in two or three years.

Soler had previously played for the Cuba’s national baseball team in the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship, where he had a .304 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, and .522 slugging percentage. His nine walks were the second most in the tournament, where Cuba won the bronze. He also briefly played in the Cuban National Series.

The bid for Soler comes months after Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes signed with the Oakland Athletics. The 26-year-old Cuban centerfielder agreed to a four-year, $36 million deal in February.