WASHINGTON - Heading toward the plate after the 500th home run of his career, Albert Pujols glanced ahead and saw a throng of Los Angeles Angels teammates waiting right there to greet him.
He was pleased by the outpouring of support. He also had a message.
“I was pretty emotional running the bases and when I … looked at all these guys coming out, it was hard,” Pujols said. “I just told them, ‘We’ve got a game to win.’ ”
Not a problem, especiallywith Pujols hitting like the Pujols of old.
Continuing a strong stretch, the Angels first baseman became the first major leaguer to hit his 499th and 500th home runs in the same game, driving in five runs Tuesday night to help Los Angeles beat the WashingtonNationals 7-2.
“I knew this year it was going to happen, whether it was tonight, tomorrow, two months from now,” Pujols said. “So my goal was just to prepare myself every day to try to help this organization win.”
The three-time National League MVP connected twice off righthander Taylor Jordan (0-3) - a three-run home run in the first inning and two-run drive in the fifth. He’s the 26th player in major-league history to reach the milestone.
Pujols also hit his 400th home run at Nationals Park.
“I admire the man. I admire his ability and the way he goes about playing the game, and I have for some time,” said Washington Manager Matt Williams, who also played against Pujols. “I just wish he’d do it against somebody else.”
Pujols is the first player to collect his 499th and 500th home runs in the same game, according to STATS. About three months past his 34th birthday, he is also the third-youngest to get to 500; Alex Rodriguez and Jimmie Foxx were 32.
Making a recent surge, Pujols has eight home runs in the past 13 games.He leads the Angels with 19 RBI.
“That’s the Albert I’m used to seeing,” Angels outfielder Mike Trout said. “Full, healthy, 100 percent healthy.”
The 500th home run went to left-center field at Nationals Park, on an 89 mph pitch with the count at 1-2. The ball was grabbed - and later given to Pujols - by a man who identified himself as Thomas Sherrill, a 29-year-old Air Force staff sergeant from Pomona, Calif.
“That pitch was supposed to be low and away,” Jordan said. “I guess I tried too hard to get it there.”
Pujols clapped his hands together a few strides before trotting home, then pointed both index fingers to the sky. Fans gave Pujols a partial standing ovation, and he acknowledged it by tipping his red batting helmet as he approached the dugout. After heading down the steps, he came back out for a curtain call.
“That’s something you tell your kids when you get older. I don’t know the next guy who’s going to hit 500,” said Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs ( 2-0), who gave up two runs in seven innings. “Nobody knows how to react. You don’t see it too much.”
Teammates said Pujols told shortstop Erick Aybar before the game he was going to hit two home runs.
“Albert’s Albert. If he tells you something, he’s going to do it,” Troutsaid. “I’m not surprised he said that, because I’ve seen it before. He’s told me, ‘I’m going deep tonight.’”
Jordan allowed 6 runs and 8 hits in 5 innings. Washington entered the game with a majors-worst 22 errors, and third baseman Anthony Rendon added two more.
After a couple of down-for-him years with the Angels following 11 stellar seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols appears ready to reclaim his spot among the game’s elite hitters. He homered Friday and Saturday at Detroit to lift his total to 498, and now he’s reached the round number of 500 - a total that remains hallowed despite losing some of its luster lately because so many players have surpassed it.
Of the 26 members of the 500-home run club, 11 reached the mark in the past 15 years, according to STATS. Gary Sheffield was the previous player to do it, hitting No. 500 in April 2009.
“You don’t see 500, obviously, every night,” Pujols said. “It’s been a great career.”
The Cardinals selected him in the 13th round of the 1999 draft with the 402nd overall selection - a steal if ever there was one. Pujols won a batting title in 2003, National League MVP awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and World Series titles with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. Pujols was the first player to hit 30 home runs in each of his first 12 seasons and the second - after Al Simmons in 1924-34 - to reach 100 RBI in each of his first 10.
A nine-time All-Star, Pujols hit 455 home runs with the Cardinals.
After more than a decade in St. Louis, Pujols signed a 10-year deal worth $240 million with the Angels following the 2011 season. Almost immediately, the 6-3 slugger appeared to be slowing down. He hit .285 with 30 home runs in 2012 - impressive numbers for most players, but career lows at that point for Pujols.
Things turned even worse in 2013. Injuries limited Pujols to 99 games, and he was sidelined from July 26 on. He ended up hitting .258 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI.
500 home runs (x-active) Through Tuesday
PLAYER NO.
1.Barry Bonds ...........762
2.Hank Aaron ............755
3.Babe Ruth ..............714
4.Willie Mays.............660
5.x-Alex Rodriguez .....654
6.Ken Griffey Jr. ........630
7.Jim Thome .............612
8.Sammy Sosa..........609
9.Frank Robinson......586
10.Mark McGwire .....583
11.Harmon Killebrew 573
12.Rafael Palmeiro....569
13.Reggie Jackson ...563
14.Manny Ramirez ....555
15.Mike Schmidt .......548
16.Mickey Mantle......536
17.Jimmie Foxx.........534
18.Willie McCovey ....521
18.Frank Thomas ......521
18.Ted Williams ........521
21.Ernie Banks ..........512
21.Eddie Mathews ....512
23.Mel Ott .................511
24.Gary Sheffield ......509
25.Eddie Murray .......504
26.x-Albert Pujols .....500
Tuesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 1 Miami 1, Atlanta 0 St. Louis 3, NY Mets 0 Chicago Cubs 9, Arizona 2 San Diego 2, Milwaukee 1 (12) Colorado 2, San Francisco 1 Philadelphia at LA Dodgers, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE Kansas City 8, Cleveland 2 Toronto 9, Baltimore 3 Detroit 8, Chicago White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 3 NY Yankees 9, Boston 3 Texas at Oakland, (n) Houston at Seattle, (n)
INTERLEAGUE LA Angels 7, Washington 2
Sports, Pages 19 on 04/23/2014