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For awhile now, the Big A has been keeping track of Albert Pujols’ career home run total by way of giant numbers on a large wall in the center field stands. When he hits a dinger, someone is always tasked with moving around those big numbers to reflect his new HR tally. It’s pretty fun and neat, sure, but did you know it actually served a purpose?
Yep, it’s more than just a Big A adornment or something that could provide busy work for stadium employees; it’s so we can all see how close he is to getting homer #600! Your mind is blown right now, right? Well, if you think that’s cool and interesting, then wait til you see THIS:
Career home run No. 599 for Albert Pujols! pic.twitter.com/f9ZGBc2JtL
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) May 31, 2017
That bomb occurred in the third inning of last night’s win over the Braves, and while most of the sports world saw that and just thought “Oh, another Albert Pujols home run. OK, whatever”, I saw something different, something HISTORIC. You see, that wasn’t just any old run of the mill MLB no-doubter. That home run that you see Pujols hitting in the above clip was actually his 599th HOME RUN OF HIS CAREER!!!!!!
The giant Pujols home run counter in the stadium was updated, of course, but fans and writers alike totally missed the significance of the moment, so much so that it makes me worried about the current state of this sport. The significance I’m referring to, of course, is that Pujols is now ONE HOMER AWAY FROM #600!
You know how many other players, in the entire history of Major League Baseball, have gotten to this insane home run mark? Eight. That’s it. Eight players have hit 600 or more dingrz, and Albert Pujols is going to be joining that elite club soon, and nobody on this planet has noticed this approaching benchmark even in the slightest, nobody except me, that is.
Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, and Sammy Sosa. Those are the names that Pujols will join. Those are some of the all-time legends of the game of baseball, and Pujols is going to be right there alongside them, and yet I’m the only person in the entire universe that cares.
I’m the only writer who sees this momentous milestone that will unfold before our very eyes...it’s not a matter of “If”, but “When”...and I’m the only writer who thinks that what he’s doing is a feat worthy of praise, adulation and canonization.
Nobody else has even brought up home run #600 except for me; I’m also the only guy who thinks this is going to be a big moment for Pujols and for the sport of baseball. You can go through every world in the infinite multiverse and you wont find another soul who is aware of Albert Pujols’ quest for 600 bombs.
Recently, I was the only person in the entire world who noticed Mike Trout was in the midst of his best season ever, so trust me on this one. I know nobody is talking about Pujols, except for yours truly, but now’s the time to start paying attention to every Pujols at-bat, trust me on this one.
Still, I can sit here and fill in all of our readers on this low key benchmark, but that doesn’t excuse the rest of the population for not noticing and/or caring that Pujols was zeroing in on the 600 club. That’s just wrong. How could so many people be oblivious to something that only eight other players have ever accomplished, and what might not be accomplished again for years to come?
Whatever the reason, it’s not acceptable. Luckily I was here to notice for everybody and show fans and writers what they’re missing. Better late than never, I suppose.