Written by Adam Wells at Bleacher Reports.com
Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols has become the ninth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 600 career home runs with his grand slam against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported Pujols’ feat.
MLB.com showed Pujols’ historic blast:
Albert Pujols becomes first player to slam his way into 600-HR club. https://t.co/sHGZEA7iAL #PapaSlam pic.twitter.com/15mWbJN5Sc
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2017
Pujols becomes the first player to reach the 600-homer barrier since Jim Thome joined the club in 2011 with the Minnesota Twins.
| MLB Players with 600 Career Home Runs | |
| Player | Career HR |
| Barry Bonds | 762 |
| Hank Aaron | 755 |
| Babe Ruth | 714 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 696 |
| Willie Mays | 660 |
| Ken Griffey Jr. | 630 |
| Jim Thome | 612 |
| Sammy Sosa | 609 |
| Albert Pujols | 600 |
| Source: Baseball-Reference.com | |
The 37-year-old Pujols started the 2017 season needing nine home runs to get to the 600 milestone. Age has slowed him down in recent years, but the 10-time All-Star did admit before the season started this was something he knew was on the horizon.
“I mean, I’m not going to say I’m going to ignore it, because it’s not fair to say,” Pujols told Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci. “It’s a blessing and a lot of hard work. At the same time, I try not to think about it. God has given me a special career so far and I’m still playing and I want to finish strong in the five years that I have [on a 10-year contract]. Then I can have the time to look back and see what I have done in this game.”
While the Pujols of 2017 doesn’t have the same intimidation factor as he did in his prime, reaching 600 home runs is just another feather in his Hall of Fame cap.
In 17 MLB seasons, Pujols has won three MVP awards and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting in each of his 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals. He has been part of two World Series teams in 2006 and 2011 and won six Silver Slugger awards.
