Cardinals: Watch Albert Pujols give hitting advice to Dylan Carlson

Watch St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols give hitting advice to up-and-coming youngster Dylan Carlson before they played the Mets.

We have heard it since the St. Louis Cardinals signed Albert Pujols: his impact is being felt not just on the field, but in the clubhouse. And on Monday night, we finally got a glimpse of it.

Before the Cardinals played the New York Mets, Pujols was on the field giving hitting instructions to promising young outfielder Dylan Carlson. Pujols was working through Carlson’s swing and his connection between the front foot and the bat. The video, which is 27 seconds, is worth watching.

MLB said it perfectly: “There is no better player to get baseball advice from than Albert Pujols.”

They aren’t wrong. Pujols, 42, is a lock to make the Hall of Fame and is easily one of the best players of this generation. In 22 seasons, he has hit .297/.375/.544 with 681 home runs and 2154 RBI, and has collected three MVP Awards along the way. He’s also won Rookie of the Year, two World Series, two Gold Gloves, six Silver Sluggers, a batting title, NLCS MVP, three-time ML POY and is a 10-time All-Star.

Calling a player like that a teammate is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And for Carlson, who is going to be a prominent part of this next wave of Cardinals players, it’s an invaluable experience that should only help him as he continues in the majors. He has struggled this year, hitting only .218/.262/.273 with zero home runs, after a promising rookie season in which he hit .266/.343/.437 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI.

It’s surely why Pujols took him onto the field for an early swing session. It will be interesting to see if there are immediate results from this session or if this is one of a few that the two are going to do together. Nonetheless, after hearing all the talk of what Pujols is doing behind the scenes, it was cool to see it in front of our own eyes.

And it makes what was already a good deal look that much better.