Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols hit his 20th home run of the season during Saturday's 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox, becoming the 17th player in MLB history to record 15 or more seasons with 20 or more home runs, per Sportsnet Stats.
This one took the aging slugger a bit longer than usual, as the 36-year-old is still only on pace to finish the season with 31 home runs, which would represent the fourth-worst single-season total of his 16-year career.
Pujols fell shy of 31 in three of his first four seasons with the Angels after slugging at least 32 homers in each of his 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals.
On a more optimistic note, the Hall of Famer has looked more like his old self of late, finishing July with six home runs, 31 RBI and a .297 batting average in 26 games.
The recent surge has pushed Pujols' batting average to a respectable .260, with his on-base percentage (.331) and slugging percentage (.439) also solid by the standards of most players.
Of course, Pujols typically isn't subjected to the same standards, as he's now in the fifth season of a 10-year, $240 million contract that already looks like a horrible mistake for the Angels.
Though still capable of launching more than his fair share of homers, Pujols has just 11 doubles in 396 at-bats this season after recording only 22 in 602 at-bats last year.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments