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When Albert Pujols returned to the St Louis Cardinals in 2022, he had 700 home runs on his mind. He needed 21, which he had not reached since 2019 but he hit 24 to land at 703. As one of four players ever with 700 homers, he is already entrenched in the record books. But Pujols wants more, telling Bob Nightengale he has his eyes set on becoming an MLB manager.
“For me, I’ve always been serious about everything that I do in this game,” Pujols said, “and now I’m serious about managing. This game has done so much for me, and now, I want to give back. I’m ready.”
Pujols has stayed in baseball since his retirement, working as a television analyst and in the Commissioner's office. But he caught the coaching bug when he managed a Dominican Winter League team to a championship in 2024. Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth all his 700 home runs but none managed a day in the major leagues.
Some of the all-time greats became managers, including Walter Johnson, Ted Williams, and Pete Rose. But none had the slugging numbers that Pujols did. As of now, Frank Robinson has the most home runs of any manager in history with 586. But Pujols can set the new number at 703.
Albert Pujols could take over either of his former teams
As the 2025 season begins, both of Pujols' former teams are in a transition phase. The St Louis Cardinals missed the playoffs two years in a row and are rebuilding. Outside of not finding a trade partner for Nolan Arenado, their team should be young and hungry this year. Meanwhile, the Angels are still trying to figure out how to build a team around Mike Trout without Shohei Ohtani.
Pujols is not ready to become a manager quite yet and both of those teams have coaches in place. But with expectations low for this season, both could have openings soon. That puts the spotlight on Pujols, who could be tasked with bringing fans back to the park on the back end of a rebuild.
Pujols did play a few games for the Dodgers toward the end of his career, an Immaculate Grid cheat code, but their manager is in place. As a dynasty gets its legs, Dave Roberts won't be going anywhere.
Of course, it does not have to be a former team that brings in Pujols. But it is fun to dream about him putting on the Cardinals red again as the bench boss.
