Baseball is like a religion in the Dominican Republic, and there have been some great Major League Baseball (MLB) players born there, including Juan Marichal, Pedro Martinez, and Manny Ramirez. But if I had to pick one player for the top of that list, it would be Albert Pujols.
Courtesy: Hall Of Fame Memorabilia
Albert Pujols played major league ball from 2001 to 2011, for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He began his career in 2001 with one of the best rookie seasons of all time. He hit .329 with 37 homeruns, 130 runs batted in, and 112 runs scored, which enabled him to win the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year. He also finished 4th in NL MVP voting.
Pujols continued to dominate over the next decade in St. Louis, a great baseball town, combining great hitting and power. From 2002 to 2011, he averaged 41 homeruns and 120 runs batted in, and his batting average was .328 over that span.
Pujols won NL MVPs in 2005, 2008, and 2009, and his overall performance puts him 4th all-time in homeruns (703) and 2nd all-time in runs batted in (2,218).
In my opinion, Pujols is one of the greatest MLB players of all time. He will be a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2028, the first season he’s eligible.
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The author published an earlier version of this article on his blog.
Agreed, Pujols was a legend and a shoe in for first ballot HOF!!!!