{"id":19973,"date":"2019-05-25T19:43:27","date_gmt":"2019-05-25T23:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=19973"},"modified":"2019-05-25T22:54:40","modified_gmt":"2019-05-26T02:54:40","slug":"albert-pujols-hits-646th-double","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/05\/25\/albert-pujols-hits-646th-double\/","title":{"rendered":"Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels Hits the 646th Double of His Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Albert Pujols Achieves Another Milestone<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Los Angeles Angels<\/a> first baseman\/designated hitter\u00a0Albert Pujols<\/a><\/strong> has hit the 646th double of his fantastic career to achieve yet another milestone. With his double in the first inning against Martin Perez<\/a><\/strong> of the Minnesota Twins on May 23rd, Albert\u00a0Pujols\u00a0joins Carl\u00a0Yastrzemski<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as eighth on the all-time doubles leaders<\/a>. This year has been\u00a0the milestone year for\u00a0Pujols\u00a0as he notched his 2000th\u00a0career RBI earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Amateur Career<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Albert\u00a0Pujols\u00a0was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His family relocated to Independence, Missouri, where he went to Fort Osage High School. After graduation,\u00a0Pujols\u00a0attended Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, Missouri. He batted a stellar .471 with 22 home runs as the Maple Woods CC starting shortstop. The St. Louis\u00a0Cardinals<\/a> drafted Pujols in the 13th\u00a0round of the 1999\u00a0MLB\u00a0draft.<\/p>\n

Minor League Career<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pujols\u00a0started his minor league career as a third baseman in 2000. He batted .324 with 128 hits, 32\u00a0doubles, six\u00a0triples, 17 home runs and 84 RBI, in 109 games\u00a0for the\u00a0Class-A Peoria Chiefs\u00a0of the\u00a0Midwest League. This was good enough to earn him a spot on the All-Star team and the league\u2019s Most Valuable Player award. After his performance for the Peoria Chiefs,\u00a0Pujols\u00a0was promoted\u00a0to the Class-A-Advanced Potomac Cannons. He spent 21 games with them, batting .284 with 23 hits, eight doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBI.\u00a0Pujols\u00a0finished his 2000 season with the AAA Memphis\u00a0Redbirds, where he was a major contributor to their Pacific Coast League Championship. He was named\u00a0postseason Most Valuable Player after hitting .367 in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Major League Career<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Albert\u00a0Pujols\u00a0was promoted\u00a0to the St. Louis Cardinals at the beginning of the 2001 season. He wasted no time dominating opposing pitchers, recording his first career hit on Opening Day. Four days later, he notched his first career home run.\u00a0Pujols\u00a0spent twelve years with the Cardinals and was a huge contributor to their 2006 and 2011 World Series championships — their first since 1982. In 2012,\u00a0Pujols\u00a0signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.<\/p>\n

Off the Field<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pujols\u00a0is a breath of fresh air to sports fans. He does what he\u00a0is supposed\u00a0to do on the field. Off the field, he is a\u00a0law-abiding\u00a0citizen and commits to being charitable.\u00a0He and his family have launched the Pujols\u00a0Family Foundation, an\u00a0organization that demonstrates a commitment to faith, family and others. The\u00a0Pujols\u00a0family has been a role model in St. Louis, Los Angeles, and the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n

Moving Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pujols\u00a0has been a dynamic hitter since he took the game of baseball by storm in 2001. As of\u00a0now, he is a career .301 hitter with 641 career home runs, 3118 hits, and 2006 RBI. He\u00a0has made\u00a0opposing pitchers cringe for nearly two decades. Baseball fans have come to love and respect\u00a0Pujols\u00a0regardless of their favorite team. It will be hard to imagine\u00a0Pujols\u00a0outside of Cooperstown once his career is over. He will be\u00a0a\u00a0clear-cut\u00a0addition to the Hall of Fame — the question will be whether he will go in as a St. Louis Cardinal or a Los Angeles Angel.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>