Former St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols had a brutally honest response when asked if he missed the game of baseball, wrote USA Today baseball columnist Bob Nightengale in a Thursday article.

“People keep asking me if I miss it,’’ Pujols told USA Today. “I don’t miss a freakin’ thing about it. I really don’t. I’ve been playing baseball for 38 years of my life.

“Seriously, I don’t miss it, dude. It was fun. I had a great career. But I am burned out.”

Pujols spent 22 years in the MLB, racking up accolades during his first decade with St. Louis before moving out to Los Angeles in 2012. He earned an All-Star selection in his very first year in the league, gaining 194 hits and 112 runs on his way to Rookie of the Year and fourth place in National League MVP voting. He would earn nine more All-Star selections in a Cardinals uniform, taking home three MVP awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras said Albert Pujols played a role in his decision to sign with the Cardinals.

“I think I was on IL. That was the day that Albert Pujols hit the 695 career homer,” Contreras said. “I was just looking around, looking around the ballpark, looking around the fanbase and the team. I said to myself ‘I would like to be a part of something like that. A team that’s always looking forward to win.'”

Pujols returned to Los Angeles as a guest instructor during the team's training camp. He said he always planned on fulfilling the 10-year personal-service contract he signed with the Angels as part of the 10-year, $254 million contract he inked in 2011, even after he was released by Los Angeles in the 2021 season.

“It was just part of the business, that’s how it is, and there’s nothing holding me back from anything,” Pujols said. “I’m really happy to be back here.

“What happened two years ago, I don’t hold any grudges on anything. That’s part of the business.”