Albert Pujols called his first home run with Cardinals since 2011

Albert Pujols called his first home run with Cardinals since 2011, and he provides exactly what the St. Louis lineup needs.

Albert Pujols is back with the Cardinals and on April 12, he hit his first home run since returning to St. Louis. It also turns out that he had a feeling it was coming.

In the hours before first pitch, as Pujols was taking batting practice, he turned to manager Oli Marmol and said that he thought he was going to hit a home run later that night. It was his first home run with the Cardinals since Sept. 22, 2011 and after the game, Pujols opened up on the moment, via MLB.com:

“You know, when you have 680 home runs, sometimes you can make those calls,” Pujols said. “I guess that was one of those where I felt good out there. I had a good feeling about the approach I was going to take tonight, and sometimes you get lucky and it happens.”

Pujols, 42, has only nine combined plate appearances this season, but is hitting .333/.333/.667 with one home run. He is a limited player at this point of his career – he’s a designated hitter who appears against left-handed pitching – but it’s a niche that he’s been very good at in his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and now the Cardinals.

Adding that bat to the Cardinals lineup, and depth, only helps further improve that unit. It gives them another leader in the locker room and someone that opposing teams still have to fear, as evidenced by his 680 career home runs and the ability to still call his own shot. Sure, there is nostalgia behind the move and having him go out with Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright.

But the Cardinals signed Pujols to enhance their chances of winning the World Series in 2022. So far, Pujols looks like he’s once again ready to help their lineup, and that can only mean good things going forward.

Especially if he’s able to continue calling his own shot.