Goals to reach for Albert Pujols

Dominican slugger Albert Pujols will return to the franchise where he began his Major League career and where he spent 11 successful years that included a pair of World Series rings in 2006 and 2011.

And leaving sentimentality aside, the Dominican slugger could reach certain figures, which although not necessary for everything that will surely come after his retirement, they are usually significant when highlighting, comparing and valuing the career of a player of such magnitude.

Already on Monday, Pujols was with the team in Jupiter for the game against the Houston Astros, where he was applauded by the crowd when he was presented wearing the Cardinals jersey.

Now the future member of the Cooperstowns Hall of Fame will look to be applauded during the regular season as he climbs the ranks and makes his way up the Major League history charts.

The most striking and relevant goal is to reach 700 home runs, a figure he would reach by hitting 21 homers, becoming the fourth player in Major League history to do so.

He would surpass Alex Rodriguez (696 HRs) as the all-time leader in that category among Dominicans. Third on the list is Sammy Sosa, at a distant 609, and among active players from Quisqueyano, Nelson Cruz with 449.

The Dominican also has the opportunity to join a select group among the 10 players with the most hits in the history of the Major Leagues. To date he has 3,301 and would only need 15 to surpass Eddie Collins (3,315) who is in eleventh place and 19 hits to surpass Paul Mollitor (3,319) who is in tenth place. Next on the list would be Carl Yastrzemski with 3,419.

With 50 more RBIs, Pujols would reach 2,200 in his career, a figure only surpassed by Hank Aaron (2,297) and Babe Ruth (2,214), which would seem possible that the native of Quisqueyano could finish the year as the number two of all time in this section.

In addition, other interesting categories would be doubles, where he could reach 12,700 and consolidate his position as fifth in that category, and runs scored, where he would need 77 in the season to be among the top ten in history.

The truth is that everything will depend on the role that Pujols will have in the season, taking into consideration that in his last games against the Dodgers his participation was limited, facing only left-handed pitchers.

With the adoption of the designated hitter in the National League and his arrival to the franchise where it all began, the St. Louis Cardinals, Albert Pujols will have the opportunity to continue adding numbers to his already legendary career, as long as his health and performance allow him to do so.