Albert Pujols Notches First Homer With Cardinals, 680th of His Career

The 10-time All-Star only made Cardinals fans wait six at-bats before launching the first home run of his final MLB season.

It’d been more than 10 years since Albert Pujols hit a home run as a St. Louis Cardinal. After making his return to Busch Stadium over the weekend, he only made fans wait a little while to remember what it felt like. 

In his sixth at-bat back in St. Louis, 3,855 days after his most recent home run in Busch Stadium as a Cardinal, the 42-year-old blasted a solo shot in the bottom of the first inning off of Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch to mark his 680th career home run.

The future Hall of Famer had launched home runs in St. Louis as both an Angel and a Dodger over the past few years, but Cardinals fans were clearly more excited to witness him do it for the home team.

🗣 THE MACHINE!!!

Albert Pujols hits his 680th HR and his first with the Cardinals since 2011 💥 #STLCards

(via @BallySportsMW) pic.twitter.com/VZBfmI4yai

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 13, 2022

Pujols, who spent the first 11 years of his MLB career in St. Louis, notched the 445th home run of his career and his most recent regular season homer as a Cardinal before going to play for the Angels on Sept. 22, 2011. 

The 10-time All-Star returned to St. Louis during the offseason on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million, and announced this year would mark his final year in the majors.

Albert Pujols is the 5th player in MLB history to hit a home run at age 21 or younger and age 42 or older for the same franchise.

He joins the list of Ted Williams (BOS), Stan Musial (STL), Carl Yastrzemski (BOS), and Willie McCovey (SFG) pic.twitter.com/c5Qqh13AUB

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 13, 2022

The 42-year-old is MLB’s active home run leader and ranks fifth in MLB history with 680 home runs. He is only 16 shy of Alex Rodriguez on the career leaderboard and 20 away from joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth in the 700 home run club.