Cardinals: Albert Pujols uses ump’s missed call as motivation to make history

St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols got fired up after an ump made the wrong call — then he used that frustration to slam a base hit for the Cards. 

Albert Pujols kicked off the 2022 season making history when the 42-year-old first baseman became the oldest active player in the MLB. Pujols’ ferocity at 42 only added to the fact that the former Dodger was finally returning home to play for the Cardinals, the team where he claimed two World Series titles.

After 22 MLB seasons, Pujols has seen everything under the sun, including his fair share of frustrating ump calls. Still, Pujols knows how to use perceived sleights to his advantage, so when an umpire erroneously called Pujols’ second strike his third strike, Pujols was visibly upset. He then drove a base hit into right field, promptly arriving on first and making MLB history with his hit.

That hit just so happened to be No. 3,320, which puts Pujols at No. 9 on the MLB’s all-time hit list.

Albert Pujols uses missed ump call to make MLB history

Now, Pujols is 99 hits behind Carl Yastrzemki, the legendary Boston Red Sox slugger who spent 23 seasons in Fenway. Pujols has been a part of the 32-member 3,000-hit club since 2018, meaning that in the four seasons since, he’s hit 320 more.

Pujols has plenty of other stats to make a case for Cooperstown, but his admission in the 3,000-hit club further solidifies his case. Pete Rose, Adrián Beltré, Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki, and Rafael Palmeiro are the only non-active MLB players who haven’t been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, who recently joined the club on April 23, are the only active MLB players who have racked up over 3,000 career hits.

Despite Pujols’ efforts, the Cardinals still lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 2-4 in the first game of the series. The 32-24 Cardinals rank second in the NL Central, but if Pujols is looking to make more history by repeating his championship history with the Cards, they’ll have to overcome the Milwaukee Brewers in the standings.