Albert Pujols hits 400th home run

Albert Pujols hit the 400th home run of his brilliant career Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Pujols drilled an 0-1 pitch from Jordan Zimmermann into the right-center sits in the fourth inning to reach the milestone.

He became the 47th player in major league history and the second Cardinals slugger to reach No. 400. Stan Musial who hit 475 home runs in his Hall of Fame career is the other. Pujols is the fifth-fastest to 400 homers in history and has a good shot at the all-time record.

The home run, his league-leading 34th this year, continues his hot August which has put him in the middle of a race for the Triple Crown. He leads the National League in home runs and RBI and is third in batting average. It was his 11th homer in his last 22 games.

Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds is also in the hunt for the Triple Crown. He leads the league in batting with a .326 average and has 31 homers and 90 RBI. The race for the crown and the division title will likely decide the MVP award too.

The feat adds to Pujols’ list of achievements. Earlier this month, he hit his 30th home run of the season for the 10th consecutive year — the only player to do so in history. He is also in position to hit .300 and drive in 100 runs as he has every year of his career.

Pujols is writing history with every at bat. When he’s done, he will be among the greatest hitters of all-time.