Five St. Louis Cardinals related things to be thankful for this year

ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 02: Yadier Molina #4, Adam Wainwright #50 and Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals leave the game during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium on October 2, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 02: Yadier Molina #4, Adam Wainwright #50 and Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals leave the game during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium on October 2, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 23: Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals acknowledges the crowd after hitting his 700th career home run at Dodger Stadium on September 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ashley Landis – Pool/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 23: Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals acknowledges the crowd after hitting his 700th career home run at Dodger Stadium on September 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ashley Landis – Pool/Getty Images)

The return of Albert Pujols

I truly think not even Hollywood could have written a better end to the career of Albert Pujols. Throughout the off-season, fans and pundits debated whether or not Pujols should be brought back to the club. Then on March 28th, the Cardinals made one of the best decisions in franchise history, reuniting with one of the best players in baseball history.

He started the year a bit slow, but came alive in the second half of the season, having a 1.103 OPS with 18 HR and 48 RBI down the stretch for St. Louis. Pujols finished the year batting .270/.345/.550 with 24 HR and 69 RBI, breaking countless records and joining the legendary 700 home run club in Dodger Stadium.

After one of the most heartbreaking departures in Cardinals history after the 2011 World Series, Pujols reminded St. Louis of how special it was to watch him all of those years, reignited our love for him, and gave us the single most memorable season in Cardinals history.

Once again, all that is left to say is, thank you, Albert. We can’t thank you enough for the memories you’ve left us with.

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