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| With his home run on Tuesday night, Albert Pujols has become the first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs in each of his first 11 seasons. - Getty Images Photo |
The first baseman with a career .328 batting average is hitting just .288 on the season. So, by that measure, it is possible to posture that Pujols is having a "down" season. But its a season that many other current and former players in Major League Baseball would love to have just once.
Pujols has had eleven of them.
In the sixth inning of Tuesday night's 5-4 extra inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pujols slammed a solo home run over the fence for his National League leading 30th home run of the season.
The home run gave Pujols eleven straight seasons with 30 or more home runs.
In fact Pujols has hit 30 home runs in every season that he is played. Pujols is the first ever to hit 30 home run in each of his first eleven seasons.
Pujols is truly an amazing hitter and certainly has to be brought up in historical discussions about the best hitter ever.
Pujols has also hit at least .300 and knocked in 100 RBI's in his first 10 seasons and is within knocking distance of finishing up the same way this year. His .288 average has been steadily on the rise for nearly six weeks and at 76 RBI's, Pujols could certainly get to 100.
Reaching 30 home runs in yet another loss had to be bittersweet for Pujols. The Cardinals now sit seven games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers.
But when you sit back and put the home run in perspective you realize just how great Albert Pujols really is.
"Those are just numbers. They just reflect how great he is," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "But he is great. He's a real weapon. I can guarantee you, though, he's not happy right now because we lost."
The numbers and the desire to win are exactly the reason why teams will be lining up this winter, hoping to place the highest bid so that Pujols can have his 12th miraculous season in a row with 30 home runs in their uniform.
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