| Nicknamed "The Machine", or "La Máquina" in Spanish, Dominican-American former professional baseball Albert Pujols celebrity heights is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Pujols played his first 11 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, then played for the Los Angeles Angels for more than nine seasons before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers for half a season. He returned to the Cardinals in 2022 for his final season.Pujols was a highly regarded hitter who long showed 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 is a six-time Silver Slugger who has twice led the NL in home runs, and he has also led the NL once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). In 2018, Pujols collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone. During the 2022 season, Pujols moved into second place on MLB's all-time list of most career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs. At the end of the season he was also the major league career leader in double plays grounded into (426), 3rd in sacrifice flies (123), 5th in games played (3,080) and doubles (686), and 6th in at bats (11,421) He won two Gold Glove awards at first base. Pujols's swing has been praised for its consistency. "It's the same swing every time," former teammate Lance Berkman once said. "He has the ability to repeat his swing over and over and over, which leads to him being very consistent," Cardinals' video coordinator Chad Blair said. Sports Illustrated writer Daniel G. Habib described the swing as "quick" and "quiet". Pujols uses a 32.5-ounce bat against right-handed pitchers, but he uses a 33-ounce bat against left-handers to avoid trying to pull the ball when he swings. He has credited his hitting ability partly to learning what pitchers will do in certain counts and situations. |
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