Albert Pujols became the 26th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 home runs Monday evening against the Washington Nationals.
The Angels first baseman hit both No. 499 and No. 500 off the same pitcher, Washington Nationals hurler Taylor Jordan, in D.C. en route to a 7-2 victory.
Pujols, 34, is the third-youngest player to reach the milestone, behind Alex Rodriguez and Jimmie Foxx, and he is the 10th player in the last 15 years to hit 500 homers.
With 22 more homers this season, he would pass eight players — Eddie Murray (504), Gary Sheffield (509), Mel Ott (511), Eddie Matthews (512), Ernie Banks (512), Ted Williams (521), Frank Thomas (521) and Willie McCovey (521) — on baseball’s all-time list.
Not bad for a guy who most thought was in a major decline. After 11 seasons of 30+ home runs, Pujols’ 2013 was marred by a plantar fascia injury that left him with the worst numbers of his career: .258, 17 homers and 64 RBI.
Aside from the fact he now leads MLB in home runs this season, more good news is that the fan who caught home run No. 500, 29-year-old Tom Sherrill, a Pomona native, Angels fan and Air Force staff sergeant, handed the ball over to Pujols without ransom.
Angels fan Tom Sherrill of Pomona, CA and a member iof Air Force with Albert’s milestone. #Angelsfanrewarded pic.twitter.com/l4WKC1eTTQ
— Tim Mead (@TMeadAngels) April 23, 2014
Pujols said on his Facebook, “Thank you to all of my fans for the well wishes on my HR #500. I thank The Lord for you, and your support over the years. May God bless you all.”
You can see video of the home run here.
In related news, you can see Milwaukee Brewers’ Martin Maldonado knock the cover off the ball in this viral video here.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports. @JHelmuth – “Like” on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
