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Since Albert Pujols isn’t putting up league-leading numbers anymore, sometimes it’s easy to miss that the 35-year-old is still successful and adding to an obvious Hall of Fame résumé every day. Tuesday’s homer against the Rays was the latest sign of his continued production, as it was the 534th homer of his career, tying him for 17th on the all-time list with Jimmie Foxx, who was inducted into Cooperstown back in 1951. Foxx played during an era where offense was at a high not seen again in MLB until the late-90s, so reaching his career total with years left to go is no small thing.
Pujols’ next long ball will give him sole possession of 17th, and the homer after that will tie him with another Hall of Fame slugger, Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. After that, there is only one more rung we can realistically expect Pujols to climb in 2015, as Mike Schmidt guards the top-15 with his 548 dingers. If Pujols has a 30-homer season, that would be just enough to give him sole possession of 15th place.
And he very well might have those 30 homers coming, as he’s been on an absolute tear of late. Pujols hit just three homers in April and batted .208/.291/.364, but something clicked in May, and he’s hit .284/.311/.603 with 11 homers since. Pujols is being aggressive, as he’s not walking much and has struck out under 10 percent of the time since May began, but this plan is working for him. He’s a different hitter than he used to be, but he has to be: he’s 35, with his best years in the game behind him, so it was time to adjust. So long as the league doesn’t adjust back too harshly, Pujols should keep on going deep.
- The Yankees have a dominating setup man and closer, but the rest of the bullpen could use some restructuring.
- Things are not going great for Domonic Brown, who is now 27 and looks lost in the minors.
- Red Sox owner John Henry gave his general manager and manager votes of confidence, but not in the “yeah they’re getting fired soon” sense we’re used to in these situations.
- Rob Manfred said that MLB could host spring training games in Cuba as early as 2016. Hey, that’s next year!
- Joey Gallo made his major-league debut on Tuesday, and it was more than anyone could have hoped for. Did you know that Gallo and Bryce Harper used to be Little League teammates?
- Speaking of Harper, a fan threw their phone at him, so he took a selfie on the field.
- Yes, we get it baseball world: you’re excited about Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant. Stop saying they’re “in the conversation” with Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, though, because those two are in their own little world. One that Trout is the current undisputed ruler of.
- Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon went on a tirade that included ump yelling and hat kicking.
- The Indians are holding Brandon Moss’ 100th career homer hostage in exchange for a 50-gallon drum of lube and naked pictures of Bea Arthur. Only one of those items was a lie!
- The MLB draft is Monday, so get familiar with the top-400 draft prospects. Yes, 400. The MLB draft has a lot of rounds, okay?
- Here is every Barry Bonds’ splash homer, ranked. Well, like half of them. He hit a lot of splash dingers, so this is just part one.
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