Last night in Saint Louis, Albert Pujols become the first major league player to hit at least 30 homeruns in each of his first nine seasons. He now has 349 for his incredible 21st century career.
Later this week or early next, he will hit his 352nd homerun, which will allow him to pass Ralph Kiner for the most long balls in the first nine years of one’s career. For reference, Alex Rodriguez hit fewer than 300 his first nine big league seasons.
While A-Rod, steroid issues aside, will now be very hard-pressed to pass Barry Bonds and become the all-time homerun king (Alex, approaching his 34th birthday, hit #565 last night) Pujols, statistically, has a valid shot.
You don’t have to do much math to figure, if the Cards’ first basemen ends 2009 with roughly 380, he is halfway to Barry, and Albert does not turn 30 until January of next year. Averaging just 40 for the next five seasons will give him close to 600 before age 35, when non-drug users generally slow down.
Can he hit another 170 or so from age 35 on? That is the question. (Barry Bonds hit about 350 after age 35, for what it’s worth; while Ken Griffey Jr has only hit 119 due to injuries)
With alleged and confessed steroid use in MLB tainting many HR records in the eyes of fans and media, Pujols, assuming he’s clean (the czars are already doing drug tests on him regularly, which he’s passing), is the Great Hope for baseball fans everywhere.
[Editor's Update: Even more amazing is the fact that Pujols is doing all of this with very little protection in the Cardinals lineup, as discussed earlier today by our good friend Moon Dog in his article Albert Pujols Should Vote His Teammates Off the Island.]
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