Background and career
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈxols]; born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the President of Baseball Operations of the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "the Machine" (Spanish: La Máquina), Pujols is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Pujols was a highly regarded hitter who possessed a "combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power." He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He was a six-time Silver Slugger and won two Gold Glove awards at first base in his career. Pujols twice led the NL in home runs and once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). Pujols surpassed 3,000 career hits, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone. During his final season, Pujols moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs.
Pujols was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, mostly by his grandmother, America Pujols, and 10 of his uncles and aunts. He is an only child. His father, Bienvenido Pujols, was a softball pitcher who struggled with alcoholism. Pujols often had to take his father home when he got drunk following games. Growing up, Pujols practiced baseball using limes for balls and a milk carton for a glove. Pujols, his father, and his grandmother immigrated in 1996 to Washington Heights in New York City, where Pujols witnessed a shooting at a bodega. Partly because of the shooting, they moved two months later to Independence, Missouri, to join some relatives. Pujols played baseball at Fort Osage High School in Independence and was named an All-State athlete twice. As a senior, he was walked 55 times intentionally, but he still hit eight home runs in 33 at-bats. One of his home runs travelled 450 feet (140 m).
After graduating from high school a semester early in December 1998, he was given a baseball scholarship to Maple Woods Community College. Pujols hit a grand slam and turned an unassisted triple play in the first game of his only college season. Playing shortstop, he batted .461 with 22 home runs as a freshman before deciding to enter the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.
Few teams were interested in Pujols because of uncertainty about his age, which position he would play, and his build. Tampa Bay Rays scout Fernando Arango recommended that his team sign Pujols, and quit his job when Tampa Bay failed to do so. Pujols was not drafted until the 13th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, when the St. Louis Cardinals selected him with the 402nd overall pick. Pujols initially turned down a $10,000 bonus and spent the summer playing for the Hays Larks of the Jayhawk Collegiate League (a summer league in the National Baseball Congress). When the Cardinals increased their bonus offer to $60,000, he signed. Pujols began his minor league career in 2000 playing third base with the Peoria Chiefs of the single-A Midwest League. He batted .324 with 128 hits, 32 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs and 84 RBI, in 109 games. He was voted the league's Most Valuable Player and named to the All-Star team. Pujols also played 21 games with the Potomac Cannons in the high-A Carolina League that year, batting .284 with 23 hits, nine doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBI. He finished the 2000 season with the Memphis Redbirds in the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL), and after appearing in three regular season games with them, he batted .367 in the playoffs and was named the postseason Most Valuable Player (MVP) as the Redbirds won their first PCL title.
During spring training in 2001, incumbent first baseman Mark McGwire told Cardinals manager Tony La Russa that if he did not promote Pujols to the major league roster, "it might be one of the worst moves you make in your career." La Russa later recounted the "myth" that Pujols only made the Opening Day roster in 2001 because Bobby Bonilla was injured. According to La Russa, he and the rest of Cardinals management were impressed enough by Pujols that they decided to promote him to the big league club even before Bonilla's injury. Cardinals executive John Vuch backed this up, calling the link between Pujols and Bonilla an "old wives' tale" and stating that the competition for the last roster spot was actually between Bonilla and John Mabry. Although the team did not require Pujols to fill any particular position, the Cardinals activated him to the Opening Day roster, and he started all season at third base, right field, left field, or first base. On Opening Day against the Colorado Rockies on April 2, Pujols became the first major league player born in the 1980s. In that game, he recorded his first career hit, a single against pitcher Mike Hampton in an 8–0 loss. Four days later, he had three hits and three RBI — including his first home run — against the Arizona Diamondbacks' Armando Reynoso in a 12–9 win. On April 9, in his first career home game, Pujols hit a two-run home run in his first at bat against Denny Neagle of Colorado. Through 2015, he was one of three players to hit 20 or more home runs in their rookie year before July, along with Wally Berger (1930) and Joc Pederson (2015). At midseason, Pujols became the first Cardinals rookie since Luis Arroyo in 1955 to make the All-Star Game. He finished the season batting .329 (sixth in the league) with 194 hits (fifth in the league), 47 doubles (fifth in the league), 37 home runs, and 112 runs. His 37 home runs led the Cardinals, topping Jim Edmonds' 30 and McGwire's 29. He was named the National League (NL) Silver Slugger Award winner for the third base position, and he finished fourth in NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting, behind Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Luis Gonzalez. He was unanimously named the NL Rookie of the Year after setting an NL rookie record with 130 RBI's (fifth in the league) and becoming the fourth MLB rookie to hit .300 with 30 home runs, 100 runs, and 100 RBI's. The Cardinals finished the 2001 season with a 93–69 record and advanced to the playoffs as the National League wild card team. The team advanced to the NL Division Series (NLDS). In Game 2 on October 10, Pujols hit a game-winning two-run home run against Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in a 4–1 victory. The Cardinals, however, were eliminated in five games, and Pujols had just two hits in 18 at-bats. After playing several positions in 2001, Pujols spent most of 2002 in left field. He began the season batting cleanup but was moved in May to the third spot in the lineup, where he remained for the rest of his Cardinals career. Pujols hit his 30th home run and 100th RBI of the season in a 5–4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in August, making him the sixth Cardinal to have back-to-back 30-home-run seasons and the second Cardinal (the other was Ray Jablonski) to start his career with back-to-back 100-RBI seasons. The following month, Pujols hit a game-winning two-run single against Pete Munro in a 9–3 victory over the Houston Astros that gave the Cardinals the NL Central title. Pujols finished the year batting .314 (seventh in the NL) with 185 hits (tied for fourth in the NL), 40 doubles (eighth in the NL), 34 home runs (10th in the NL), 118 runs scored (second in the NL to Sosa's 122), and 127 RBI's (second in the NL). He became the first player in major league history to hit over .300 with at least 30 home runs, 100 runs scored, and 100 RBI in his first two seasons. Pujols finished second in MVP voting to Bonds, becoming the first Cardinal since Stan Musial to finish in the top four in MVP voting for consecutive seasons. At the end of the 2002 season, Chris Haft of MLB.com called him "an outstanding hitter." Pujols' contributions helped the Cardinals finish third in home runs and second in batting average and RBI; the Cardinals' pitching staff also finished fourth in ERA. The Cardinals again reached the playoffs, and Pujols had three hits and three RBI in a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks in the 2002 NLDS. The team advanced to the 2002 NL Championship Series (NLCS), but lost in five games to the San Francisco Giants. Pujols had five hits, one home run and two RBI in the series. Five Cardinals were named to the All-Star Game in 2003 while Pujols led the NL in votes. It was the first of eight straight seasons that Pujols would reach the All-Star Game. From July 12 to August 16, Pujols had a 30-game hitting streak, tied for the second-longest in Cardinals' history with Musial and behind only Rogers Hornsby's 33-game streak. On July 20, Pujols hit his 100th career home run, a game-winner in a 10–7 victory over the Dodgers. He became the fourth major leaguer to hit his 100th home run in his third season, along with Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews and Joe DiMaggio. Pujols hit his 114th home run on September 20 in a game against the Astros, which tied him with Kiner for the most home runs by a player in his first three seasons. In 157 games, Pujols hit 43 home runs (fourth in the league, behind Jim Thome, Richie Sexson and Bonds) and had 124 RBI's (tied with Sexson for fourth and behind Preston Wilson, Gary Sheffield and Thome). He became the youngest player since Tommy Davis in 1962 to win the NL batting title after batting .359, and he led the league in runs (137), hits (212), and doubles (51). Pujols joined Rogers Hornsby as the only players in the Cardinals' history to record more than 40 homers and 200 hits in the same season. Though his stellar play had Cardinals' fans chanting "M-V-P!" during home games as early as June, Pujols again finished second to Bonds in MVP voting. He won his second Silver Slugger Award and first Sporting News Player of the Year Award. Pujols' contributions helped the Cardinals rank second in batting average and third in home runs in the NL; however, the pitching staff posted a 4.60 ERA, which was below the league average, and the Cardinals missed the playoffs.
After receiving many awards in his first three seasons, Pujols was rewarded monetarily for his accomplishments on February 20, 2004, when he signed a seven-year, $100 million contract extension with a $16 million club option for 2011 with no-trade provisions. He was moved to first base in 2004 after the Cardinals traded Tino Martinez in the offseason. On June 16, he hit a walk-off home run against Reds pitcher Mike Matthews in the 10th inning of a 4–3 victory. Pujols' highlights later in the season included a July game in which he hit five RBI and three home runs in a thrilling win over the rival Chicago Cubs, and another in which he broke up a no-hitter by Giants pitcher Dustin Hermanson. During a September game against the Rockies, he earned his 500th RBI, joining Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams as the only players to have 500 RBI in their first four seasons. Although Pujols was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis during the second half of the season, he finished the season with a .331 average (fifth in the league), 196 hits (fifth), 51 doubles (second to Lyle Overbay's 53), 46 home runs (tied with Adam Dunn for second behind Adrián Beltré's 48), and 123 RBIs (third, behind Vinny Castilla's 131 and Scott Rolen's 124) in 154 games. He also led the league with 133 runs scored. On defense, he tied for the league lead in errors by a first baseman, with 14. He finished third in MVP voting (behind Bonds and Beltré), joining Musial as the only Cardinals to finish in the top five in voting for at least four years in a row. He won the Silver Slugger Award at first base, the third position he won the award at. Pujols, along with teammates Edmonds and Rolen, earned the nickname "MV3" for their phenomenal seasons; Pujols led the three in home runs and batting average. The Cardinals won the NL Central, aided by pitcher Chris Carpenter, who won 15 games and had a 3.46 ERA his first season with the team en route to winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. In Game 4 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, Pujols hit a three-run home run against Wilson Álvarez and had four RBI as the Cardinals won, 6–2, and took the series three games to one. In Game 6 of the NLCS, Pujols had three hits, scored three runs (including the winning run), and hit a two-run home run off Munro in a 12-inning, 6–4 victory. The Cardinals won the series in seven games, advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1987. Pujols was named the NLCS MVP after batting .500 with four home runs and nine RBI. He was one of three Cardinals batters hit over .250 in the series against the Boston Red Sox, batting .333 as the Cardinals were swept by Boston in four games. By 2005, many baseball fans thought that Pujols was the best Cardinal since Musial. Pujols picked up his 100th RBI of the season on August 31, joining Williams, DiMaggio and Al Simmons as the only players with 100 RBI in their first five seasons. Pujols hit his 200th career home run in a game against the Reds on September 30, making him the third-youngest major league player to reach that milestone (behind Mel Ott and Eddie Mathews) and the second-fastest to reach it (behind Kiner). In 161 games, Pujols batted .330 (second to Derrek Lee's .335 average) with 195 hits (fourth behind Lee, Miguel Cabrera and Jimmy Rollins), 38 doubles, 41 home runs (third, behind Andruw Jones' 51 and Lee's 46), 117 RBI's (tied with Burrell for second behind Jones' 128), and 129 runs scored (first in the league). For the first time in his career, he won the NL MVP award as Bonds was limited to 14 games due to an injury. Pujols returned to the playoffs as the Cardinals won the NL Central for the second year in a row. He had five hits in nine at-bats with four runs scored and two RBI in the NLDS as the Cardinals swept the Padres. In Game 5 of the NLCS against the Astros, with the Cardinals trailing by two runs and only one out from elimination in the ninth inning, Pujols hit a game-winning three-run home run against Brad Lidge that landed on the train tracks in the back of Minute Maid Park. The Cardinals won 5–4. MLB.com writer Matthew Leach later called it "one of the most famous playoff home runs in recent years." Nevertheless, the Cardinals were eliminated in Game 6 by the Astros. Pujols batted .304 with two home runs and six RBI in the series.
