Cardinals History: Making it rain in the month of April

Tyler Soderstrom, the Athletics' first baseman, hit his ninth home run of the year on April 17th. He currently leads all of Major League Baseball with that figure. Six of his home runs have come in the month of April, an impressive figure to say the least. However, Soderstrom's hot April still isn't the best in baseball history in the season's inaugural month when it comes to the long ball.

Baseball teams and individual players always want to get off to hot starts. Having a strong April typically bodes well for a player's or team's season, so it's important that teams perform well in the wettest month of the year.

For the St. Louis Cardinals, they hold two records related to home runs in the month of April.

Albert Pujols still holds the MLB record for the most home runs in April, and the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals hold the MLB record for most team home runs in the first month of the season.

In the 2006 season, Albert Pujols would have a slash line of .331/.431/.671 with 49 home runs, a Gold Glove award, and an All-Star Game appearance. It was one of his best single-season efforts of his career, and it started off with a little bit of history.

In the month of April that year, Pujols hit 14 home runs, tied for the most in Major League Baseball history in the month of April. Only Alex Rodriguez (2007, Yankees), Cody Bellinger (2019, Dodgers), and Christian Yelich (2019, Brewers) have been able to match Pujols's feat. His efforts in 2006 were imperative to the club winning its tenth World Series trophy in franchise history.

Not only do the Cardinals boast the best home run hitter in the month of April in MLB history, but they also have the best team home run total for the first month of the season. In 2000, the St. Louis Cardinals slugged 55 home runs alone in the month of April.

The home run charge was led by center fielder Jim Edmonds (eight home runs), first baseman Mark McGwire (eight home runs), and third baseman Fernando Tatis (six home runs). 14 different Cardinals slugged a home run in the month of April in 2000 for the Cardinals. To this day, no other team in history has hit that many home runs in April.

The 2000 Cardinals would go on to hit 235 home runs thanks to the efforts of Jim Edmonds (42), Mark McGwire (32), and Ray Lankford (26) that year. The 2000 Cardinals won the National League Central with a 95-67 record, but they fell to the New York Mets in the NLCS. Their bats weren't enough for the mighty Mets offense that was led by Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Todd Zeile.

Tyler Soderstrom's home run efforts early in the season are impressive. He'll probably hit a bunch of home runs this year. However, neither he or any team will likely surpass Albert Pujols or the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals in home runs during the month of April.