Albert Pujols: A 3,000 hitting humanitarian Machine
By Jose de Jesus Ortiz
There will be a statue of Albert Pujols one day outside of Busch Stadium, where he’ll join the rest of the Cardinals’ immortals. That’s how much the Angels’ slugger still means to the people of St. Louis and the organization that ushered him to prominence over his first 11 years in the majors.
Pujols’ statue will fit perfectly near the ultimate gentleman, Stan “The Man” Musial, and the beloved Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy Dean, Ozzie Smith, Enos Slaughter and Red Schoendienst.
His exploits on the field will be remembered for generations in St. Louis, as well they should. But as Pujols marches to 3,000 hits, it’s important to remember that the slugger’s contributions extend well beyond the playing field.
A Man of the Community
As he prepares to become the sixth Latino to join baseball’s exclusive 3,000-hit club, the people who know him best in St. Louis will tell you that he may actually be a better person than a hitter. How about that for a compliment?
“Everybody knows how Pujols is,” perennial All-Star catcher Yadier Molina said. “He’s a tremendous man and a tremendous human being, tremendous player. He helps everybody.”
As Pujols inches closer to becoming the 32nd player in big league history to collect 3,000 hits and only the fourth with at least 3,000 hits and at least 600 home runs, it’s tempting to focus on all of his baseball’s exploits.
Pujols introduced himself to the majors with authority as a rookie in 2001, when he was an All-Star, the National League Rookie of the Year, and a Silver Slugger Award-winner. He also finished fourth in voting for the NL Most Valuable Player Award.
Pujols finished second in the NL MVP race in his second and third seasons in the majors and then third in the MVP race in his fourth season before winning his first of his three MVP Awards in 2005.
He won the NL MVP in 2005, 2008 and 2009. He also led the Cardinals to the World Series titles in 2006 and 2011 and the NL title in 2004.
One of the most feared sluggers of his generation, he is also one of the most beloved – in both St. Louis, where he played his first 11 seasons, and the Dominican Republic.
“The one thing that I felt most fortunate about is I got to spend so much time with him away from the field and he’s just a completely different animal,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I’ve never seen someone so driven and stay so locked in for an entire season and then be able to kind of be a completely different persona.
“Obviously we know about the things he’s done around here, but just watching him in general he’s a good-hearted person that has really maximized his platform here and the D.R. seeing how he cares about people.”
The (Humanitarian) Machine
In many ways, Pujols has embodied the best qualities of the saintly Roberto Clemente, the first Latino star to join the 3,000-hit club.
He has helped thousands with his Albert Pujols Foundation, which never abandoned St. Louis while expanding its mission to Anaheim, Calif., after he joined the Angels.
“He’s like a mirror that you want to see reflect off you,” Cardinals ace righthander Carlos Martínez said of Pujols. “He’s an example for the new players coming up. I’ve spent a lot of time with him. And he’s spoken to me about his career and life.
“He’s the type of person who has set an example for all of us in baseball, especially the Latinos. I’m very thankful to God to have been able to see him play and meet him although I didn’t play with him.”
He has used his fame to raise hundreds of thousands and rally members of the St. Louis medical community to go on medical mission trips every December since 2007.
In 2017, he allowed Martínez’s Tsunami Waves Foundation to move the annual medical mission trip from its usual base on the southern part of the Dominican Republic to Puerto Plata on the northern coast of the Caribbean island.
Pujols joined Martínez in Puerto Plata during the medical mission, guiding one of the best young pitchers in baseball on the important aspect of giving.
Pujols didn’t just lend his name. He lent his time, energy and money to show Martínez just how important it is to help bring much needed medical care to their native island.
“I think that Albert, this was always in his heart from the very beginning,” said Dr. Rob Hanson, a pediatric oncologist at St. Louis’ Mercy Children’s hospital. “As soon as he kind of broke out and started to make some money as a ballplayer there was never any question that this was going to be where he invested time and money and his heart.
“And I think that what was really neat on this trip was seeing him in kind of that mentoring role to Carlos. Carlos is still very young. He has a heart for people and for his hometown, but just kind of learning and seeing how he can take the platform he’s been given here and just the opportunities he’s been given here to use those.”
More than most, Dr. Hanson knows how much time Pujols has devoted long hours over the years to raising money and bringing medical missions to the Dominican Republic.
Hanson has participated in all 11 of the Pujols Foundation’s medical missions in the Dominican Republic.
“Albert has such a heart for his people from the Dominican Republic,” Hanson said. “And really since he founded the foundation for 12 years now he has so consistently devoted his time and his energy and his heart to caring for them and giving back to them.
“It was really neat on this trip to see him mentoring Carlos and really taking a role passing on to Carlos not only the heart for that mission but how to do it and the ways they can serve and they can support and they can do things that really have meaning and have impact.”
Martínez is only the latest of the players Pujols has inspired and mentored. He also guided Molina, who has become one of the most respected players from Puerto Rico. When you think of Puerto Rican superstars over the last decade, Molina and Carlos Beltrán are considered the most respected leaders by their fellow Boricuas in the majors. His leadership and grit was nurtured early on by Pujols.
“He helped me a lot,” Molina says of Pujols.
Whether it’s a future legend like Molina in St. Louis, a young two-time All-Star ace such as Martínez or a young American League MVP such as Mike Trout of the Angels, Pujols’ impact has been felt throughout the majors.
It’s not just the superstars, though. Most of Pujols’ former or current teammates have a story of the way he helped them in their careers.
Much More Than 3,000
There’s much to celebrate as Pujols prepares to join Clemente, Rod Carew, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez and Adrian Beltré as the only Latinos on the 3,000-hit club.
“There’s just brashness about how locked in he was as a player that I don’t think let people see what kind of person that he was,” Matheny said. “Watching what he does away from the field has just given me greater respect for he and [his wife] Deidre both.
“They’re impact people. That’s going to be a legacy that to me is going to be more impactful than the one he’s left as a player.”
The people who know him best are celebrating his achievement because it’s further proof that good things happen to good people.
“We Dominicans, we see baseball like a passion,” Martínez said. “It’s something incredible to see him chase 3,000 hits. He represents our heart. For him to get 3,000 hits, the Dominican flag will be lifted high. Everybody is anticipating his 3,000 hits. He’s had his 600 home runs. His numbers in his career fill the Dominican with pride and raise our country’s spirits.”
Featured Image: Major League Baseball