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After just three years in Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols is already recognized as force to be reckoned with in the batter’s box. At only 23 years of age, Albert Pujols has become a popular and formidable weapon for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on January 16, 1980, Jose Alberto Pujols showed his baseball talent at an early age. His father, Bienvenido, made a name for himself as a pitcher in the Dominican Republic. Albert Pujols was raised by his grandmother, America, and lived in poverty for the majority of his childhood. When Albert Pujols was 16 years old, they moved to New York City to join relatives already living there. Soon after, the family moved again to Independence, Missouri. There, Albert Pujols learned to speak English and became a star player as the shortstop for his high school’s baseball team. Upon graduation, Albert Pujols attended Maple Woods Community College and started as shortstop for the baseball team there in 1999. Albert Pujols then played for the Hays Larks in the Jayhawk League in Kansas, where he led the team in batting average and home runs. The Cardinals then made Albert Pujols an offer of a $60,000 signing bonus, and which he accepted at the end of the summer of 1999.
On New Year’s Day in 2000, Albert Pujols married Diedre, whom he had met in Kansas City the year before. The couple and Diedre’s daughter, Isabella, moved to Peoria, where Albert Pujols played third base for the Chiefs. Albert Pujols’s performance behind the plate and on the field earned him the title of Most Valuable Player in the Class A Midwest League for the 2000 season. Albert Pujols then played for the Potomac Cannons and the Memphis Redbirds, two Cardinals farm teams, before being promoted to the Major Leagues.
Albert Pujols made a strong Major League debut in the spring of 2001, and has continued that momentum ever since. Albert Pujols set the Cardinals rookie records in for home runs, doubles, RBIs, extra-base hits, runs and total bases. Albert Pujols also established National League rookie records for RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases. In close voting, he narrowly missed being named the 2001 National League Rookie of the Year. The following year, he batted .340 during road games, and was second in the N.L. for both runs and RBIs. As a testament to this charitable personality and strong work ethic, at the end of the season Albert Pujols received St. Louis’ Baseball Man of the Year award.
With Albert Pujols’s solid batting skills and aptitude at several positions on the field, he has a promising future as one of the most recognized and talented players in Major League Baseball. Currently, Albert Pujols is the only player in Major League history to hit at least .300 in each of his first three seasons. In 2003 Albert Pujols was named the Major League’s Player of the Year by the Sporting News, and received the Hank Aaron Award for the best offensive player in the National League. “I want to thank Hank Aaron for the intensity he has for this game and for this award,” Albert Pujols said following the announcement. “It is one of the greatest awards I have ever received. I wish I can hit half as many home runs as he hit." |
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ALBERT PUJOLS PICTURES |
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