The St. Louis Cardinals entered their Sunday Night Baseball contest against the San Francisco Giants three games over .500, at 18-15. Their starting rotation has been a big surprise for them thus far, with Miles Mikolas looking like the pitcher they had hoped a couple seasons ago, Adam Wainwright turning back the clock and Dakota Hudson beginning to really impress.
But on Sunday, Cardinals fans were treated to something even more special. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol shocked everyone, allowing St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols to pitch.
— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2022
This was the first time in the Cardinals' designated hitter's career he took the mound. He had mentioned about having the ability to pitch over the years, but no one thought that would ever come to fruition. Well, if there ever was a time for it, Sunday night was it.
With St. Louis crushing the Giants 15-2 in the top of the ninth inning, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol figured why not. Pujols pitched the entire inning, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk. Two of those hits went for home runs, as Luis Gonzalez and Joey Bart went back-to-back.
Nevertheless, the future Hall of Fame power hitter would finish the inning and close out the game.
Pujols joined Babe Ruth as the only players in the history of baseball to pitch and have more than 600 home runs during their career.
Players in MLB history who have hit 600 HR and pitched:
1. Babe Ruth
2. Albert Pujols— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) May 16, 2022
Pujols is fifth on the all-time home run list with 679 career bombs. Meanwhile, Ruth ended his career with 714. That has since been surpassed by Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.
Pujols signed a one-year contract with St. Louis this offseason, wanting to finish his career where it all began over 20 years ago.
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