Cardinals’ Albert Pujols hits his 699th and 700th home runs in back-to-back plate appearances

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols has swung his way into the record books, becoming the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 700 career home runs.

He entered tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with 698 career home runs, just having passed Alex Rodriguez for sole possession of 4th place on the all-time list.

Pujols has joined Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds as the only players in history to accomplish this feat. Pujols also becomes the first and only man born outside of the United States to reach this mark.

Albert Pujols has officially become the 4th player in MLB history to hit 700 career home runs

Pujols hit his first home run of the night off Andrew Heaney in the 3rd inning. After Tommy Edman was walked, Pujols stepped up to the plate and took a 1-2 pitch deep to left field to put the Cardinals up 2-0.

The following inning, with Brendan Donovan standing on second after a walk and an Edman single, Heaney was replaced with relief pitcher Phil Bickford. Pujols stepped up to the plate. After throwing back-to-back sliders, Bickford decided to throw the slider a third time on a 1-1 pitch. Pujols sent it 389 feet deep to crack the 700 homer mark.

Pujols broke the 700 mark against a team he played with last season – one he hit 12 home runs with.

Of his 700 homers, Pujols hit the most with the Cardinals – smacking 464 of them in 12 seasons from 2001-2011 and in this 2022 season. 

In 2012, he joined the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, where he would stay until 2021. In his tenure there, he hit 214 balls over the fence.

Pujols signed his current Cardinals contract back on March 28 of this year, saying it would be his last in Major League Baseball.  

After entering tonight’s game with 698 homers, he smacked no. 699 against Andrew Heaney

Pujols is the 4th player in history – and first non-American – to hit 700 homers in the majors