Albert Pujols‘ milestone-rich final season in Major League Baseball continued apace on Sunday, as he moved into a tie with the luminous Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time RBI list.
In fitting fashion, Pujols’ history-making ribbie came on a home run — the 702nd home run of his career. Here’s a look at Pujols’ blast off Roansy Contreras of the Pittsburgh Pirates:
And for good measure, another angle on things:
That’s a 409-foot blast that left the bat at 105.3 mph. It’s Pujols’ 23rd home run of this, his age-42 season. Adding to the significance of the moment, as captioned above, is that this home run took place in the last regular season game Pujols will play at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Despite being highly productive in 2022 — he’s now slashing .268/.344/.543 on the season — Pujols has insisted he’ll proceed with his stated plans to retire at season’s end.
As for his rise up the all-time RBI list, that home run, as noted, pulls him into a tie with Ruth. Earlier in Sunday’s game, Pujols notched a two-RBI double that drew him within one of Ruth. Now here’s the updated all-time leaderboard:
- Hank Aaron: 2,297 RBI
- Albert Pujols, Babe Ruth: 2,214 RBI
- Alex Rodriguez: 2,086 RBI
- Cap Anson: 2,075 RBI
After Sunday, the Cardinals have three games left in the regular season before they enter the playoffs as champions of the National League Central. Presumably, Pujols over those remaining three games — against the Pirates in Pittsburgh — will have multiple chances to pass Ruth on the RBI list. Catching Aaron is obviously out of the question.
Regardless of how that plays out, it’s been an unforgettable final season for Pujols, who was already in line to be an inner-circle Hall of Famer five years from now. No doubt, if Pujols gets his way, then the true capstone will be winning the World Series for the third time as a Cardinal.
