Albert Pujols

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (born January 16, 1980), better known as Albert Pujols (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalβert puˈxols]), is a Dominican-American baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball (MLB). He stands 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall, weighs 230 pounds (100 kg), and bats and throws right-handed. He previously played 11 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the only player in major league history to record a batting average of at least .300 with at least 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in (RBIs) in his first 10 seasons. He also is the first player to accumulate at least 500 doubles in his first 12 seasons. Pujols leads all active players in doubles, with 561.

Pujols was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to the United States in 1996. After one season of college baseball, he was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB Draft. As a rookie for the Cardinals in 2001, he unanimously won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award. He finished second in NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award voting in 2002, and he won the batting title in 2003 after hitting .359. He hit 40 home runs for the first time in his career in 2004 and helped the Cardinals reach the World Series, where they were swept by the Boston Red Sox in four games. He won his first NL MVP Award in 2005, and he won his first World Series in 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in five games.

Pujols failed to score 100 runs for the first time in his career in 2007. In 2008, he won his second NL MVP. He won the award again in 2009 while leading the league in home runs for the first time, and in 2010 he led the NL in home runs and RBIs. He won his second World Series in 2011 as the Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games. Pujols tied Series single-game records for home runs, hits, and RBIs in Game 3. He became a free agent after the season and signed a 10-year deal with the Angels. Pujols hit his 500th career home run on April 22, 2014.

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