The Path to 700: Albert Pujols's Farewell to St. Louis

Five is Back

Albert's first appearance in Cardinal Red in more than 11 years came at the team's spring training facility in Jupiter, Florida. After agreeing to a deal late in spring training, Albert needed to get caught up to speed rather quickly, so he shipped out to Florida the same day his contract became public.

While spring training games are often sparsely attended by families on vacation, scouts, organizational executives, and locals, the game on March 28th in Jupiter had a fairly sizable crowd in attendance. Adam Wainwright was getting the start on this sunny March day with Yadier Molina behind the plate. It was only serendipitous that their best friend would decide to walk out of the right field gate during Wainwright's warmup.

Albert entered Roger Dean Stadium to a rousing ovation that day, and the veteran battery of Wainwright and Molina recognized him in a similar manner.

Pujols's first spring appearance came on Wednesday, March 30th against the Washington Nationals. He was the team's starting designated hitter, and he went 1-3 with a single on the day. Altogether, Pujols would go 3-7 with an RBI during his tune-up at Jupiter.

Albert was in the Opening Day lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his return to the city that made him famous featured a sellout crowd of 46,256 rabid fans. In his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, Pujols came to bat to a standing ovation. With a tip of his cap and teary eyes, he entered the batter's box in a stadium all too familiar to him. He flew out to left field, but his storied return officially started on this day.

Josh Jacobs, now the site editor at Redbird Rants, went to Opening Day in 2022, and he wrote about the emotions surrounding the surreal moments. "Although Pujols was unable to record a hit on the day, the ovation that he and Molina received in their first at-bats is something that I will never forget. For Molina, he has represented the Cardinals in now three different decades and will go down as one of the most beloved in franchise history. For Pujols, it feels a bit like the return of the prodigal son coming back to St. Louis, the city where he belongs."

Pujols would finish Opening Day going 0-5 against the Pirates, but his return had officially started. Five was back. He would finish April with a .267/.333/.500 slash line with two home runs and five runs batted in for a 135 wRC+. His first month was quite strong. However, things would soon take a turn for the worst for the 42-year-old first baseman and designated hitter.