Last night, the St. Louis Cardinals visited the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park for the last time in 2022, at least in the regular season.
The organization had a kind gesture towards one of the game’s greatest players: Albert Pujols.
The slugger, who will be retiring after the year, received a nice basket from the Braves, delivered by fellow Dominican player Marcell Ozuna.
“Marcell Ozuna carries out a basket of peaches and Georgia peanuts as a gift for #stlcards great Albert Pujols upon his final regular season visit to Atlanta. Braves also donated $1,000 to Pujols’ charity,” Derrick Goold, a Cardinals writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, tweeted.
Marcell Ozuna carries out a basket of peaches and Georgia peanuts as a gift for #stlcards great Albert Pujols upon his final regular season visit to Atlanta. Braves also donated $1,000 to Pujols’ charity. pic.twitter.com/5SHiKzl9Xu
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) July 7, 2022
The peaches and peanuts are a nice gesture, as is the $1,000 donation to Pujols’ charity.
The Most Respected Player In The League
The league as a whole recognizes Pujols’ contributions to the game.
He is, quite simply, the best Latino player ever to step on an MLB field.
That’s quite the accomplishment, as Roberto Clemente, Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, and many other greats played for a long time.
Pujols helped change the course of an entire franchise in the 2000s: he made his debut with the Cardinals in 2001 and went on to win MVP awards, Silver Slugger awards, and most importantly, two World Series.
Back in 2006, the Cardinals were heavy underdogs against the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, but Pujols and co. brought the title to St. Louis.
The same happened in 2011.
After that season, the first baseman played in Los Angeles for the next 10 years…until 2022.
The Cards gave him the chance to say goodbye in front of the fans that love and admire him.
He hasn’t been a star by any means: he is hitting .200/.288/.336.
However, his value at this point is coming off the field, with his clubhouse presence and leadership.
He is one of the greatest right-handed hitters the game has seen.
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