ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Albert Pujols played in more than 1,700 games, across 11 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals. His talent forced fans to pay attention every time he took the field, from his first at bat on April 2, 2001, to his final plate appearance with St. Louis on Oct. 28, in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series.
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On Thursday, reports broke that he's being released by the LA Angels and it could mean the end of his first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
So we wanted to pull some of the biggest moments that came during his time playing for St. Louis. Here are the top-5 biggest moments of Pujols with the Cardinals (vote for your favorite at the bottom of this page):
April 6, 2001: First home run
Before he was known as El Hombre, The Machine, Prince Albert or Phat Albert, he was a 21-year-old rookie. It took just four MLB games for Pujols to hit the first of his now 645 career home runs:
July 4, 2003: The knock down
Following a pitch from Chicago Cubs ace Kerry Wood that rose up and in on the then 23-year-old, knocking him down at Wrigley Field, Pujols destroyed the next offering for a home run. And Mike Shannon nailed the call:
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July 20, 2004: The perfect game
In a game at Wrigley Field, the Cards trailed the Cubs 7-1 when Albert Pujols went off! He finished the game going 5-for-5, hitting three home runs, scoring four runs and had five RBI. His third home-run was a two-run shot off LaTroy Hawkins in the ninth. The Cardinals won the game 11-8:
Oct. 17, 2005: The moon shot
In Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, the Cardinals found themselves down to their final out, trailing 4-2 against the Astros and closer Brad Lidge. The Cardinals had a couple of baserunners on when Pujols delivered a three-run shot that bounced off the train tracks in Minute Maid Park. Reports suggest the ball traveled 455-feet, but many believe it went much, much farther than that:
Oct. 22, 2011: The 3-home run World Series game
The 2011 World Series is remembered largely for David Freese’s heroics in Game 6, but Game 3 in Arlington was the "Albert Pujols show." El Hombre went 5-for-6 with four runs, six RBIs and a historic three home runs. Pujols, Pablo Sandoval, Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson are the only players in history to hit three homers in a World Series game.
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