Pujols basks in St. Louis love, ovations
It was a fitting final embrace near home plate at Busch Stadium after the last out Sunday night. The perfect touching gesture wrapped up a weekend of healing and love, of curtain calls and long ovations, for an Angel who will always be a Cardinal to the best fans in baseball.
In a weekend full of moments Cardinals fans will remember for generations, the current face of the organization, catcher Yadier Molina, capped the series with a post game jersey exchange near home plate with the man who had been the face of the franchise for 11 seasons.
“We felt no matter what happened on Sunday with the game I think it was a good idea to do it at the plate and just sign it and exchange it,” Pujols said. “It’s something that will be in my trophy case. He’s going to keep mine too. It’s going to be in his trophy case.
“To see Yadi and to see the man that he has become, the leader, the champion, the success and everything else, I can close my eyes right now and I remember this little boy walking into Cardinals camp. Just the man that he has become is unbelievable. I love that kid. He’s like my little brother. It’s something that I think was necessary for both of us.”
Neither man is a kid anymore. Pujols, who debuted as the National League Rookie of the Year in 2001, is 39.
Molina, who made his debut in 2004, is 36. They are both legends likely headed to eventual enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Time definitely helps the healing process. Pujols is correct when he says that this homecoming might not have been as warm if he had returned in the first season after signing a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Angels six weeks after leading the Cardinals to the franchise’s National League-record 11th World Series title.
The prodigal son never truly left St. Louis, though, at least not where it matters most if you consider all the work Pujols has done with his foundation, which remains anchored in the city where he played the first 11 glorious years of his career.
The homecoming started rather quietly and privately as Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak visited Pujols inside the visitors’ clubhouse on Friday afternoon. DeWitt and Mozeliak didn’t want to be a distraction at Pujols’ press conference at 4 p.m. on Friday, so they visited with him privately a few minutes earlier.
He received six ovations Friday night in the first game of the three-game interleague series, beginning with the first time the sellout crowd saw him during pregame warmups. The second-largest crowd in the history of Busch Stadium III showered Pujols with an ovation that lasted more than a minute when he went to the plate for his first at-bat.
He received ovations each time he went to the plate during the series. The crowd often chanted his name, moving the burly slugger near tears often.
Old habits are hard to break, especially when the heart is involved, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise when the Busch Stadium crowd roared to its feet after Pujols homered in the seventh inning on Saturday. As they had done often during his first 11 seasons in St. Louis, they rejoiced when Pujols sent a ball over the fence.
Never mind that it was against the Cardinals. Pujols was so moved by the gesture, he rushed inside the dugout to hide from the cameras as he struggled to contain his emotions. The crowd kept cheering, demanding a curtain call from a visitor who still owns the place.
Not surprisingly, that’s the moment Pujols mentioned as the most memorable of the weekend.
“Especially yesterday to be able to hit that home and to run around the bases and seeing the fans do that and really for that long,” Pujols said when asked what stood out from the weekend. “I only saw (that once for) one person on the visiting side, and I think was Ken Griffey Jr. when he hit 500, but nothing like it was yesterday.
“I think that moment right there said it. That was one of the moments that kind of brought me out in tears. I had to walk down to put my helmet and gloves because I felt like I was going to lose it.”
The three-time NL MVP controlled his emotions most of the weekend. He was grateful but not surprised. More than most, he appreciates why Cardinals fans are known as the best in baseball.
He showed up early for Sunday’s game to meet with fans. His foundation works with children and adults with special needs, annually holding a prom and basketball game for children with down syndrome in St. Louis.
The fans know about his commitment to the St. Louis community, and they cherish that part of his resume as much as the 646 home runs and his two titles. He hit his first 445 home runs as a Cardinal, and the next 201 with the Angels. But 646, which he hit in an Angels uniform at Busch Stadium, belonged to both franchises.
That was evident by the crowd’s reaction.
“There’s nothing that they did this weekend that was surprising,” Pujols said of the fans. “That’s what they do. They shared this moment. We shared a lot of great moments, ups and downs in this organization, 11 years here, nine playoffs, went to three World Series, won two.
“Just a lot in common, and those are the moments that I shared with them. I’m pretty sure they’re rooting for me even though I went west and there were some people that were mad at me and all that. You know what, all of that is past and gone. I think that will show you this weekend how much they appreciate about just what I’ve done on the field. That’s great.”
Pujols rates with Hall of Famer Stan Musial among the greatest Cardinals of all. He’ll eventually join him in Cooperstown and among the red jacket-wearing members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
It’s unclear if he’ll ever play at Busch Stadium again, but this weekend reminded the world that No. 5 is still a beloved man in St. Louis.
“I don’t regret,” he said. “I’m glad. I’m blessed. I thank God for this moment. If I had to do it again tomorrow or next week, let’s go because this was fun.”
Featured Image: Yadier Molina Instagram
Inset Image: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images Sport