“I was pretty close from dropping a couple tears there, I think, especially when I hugged Yadi,” Pujols said. “We had that little moment to ourselves right there.”
The ovation might have lasted even longer if Michael Wacha hadn’t then thrown his first pitch to Pujols. The at-bat ended with Pujols flying out to center field, a blast that brought the crowd to their feet, only to end in a mass sigh when the ball settled into the glove of Harrison Bader .
Pujols received a standing ovation as he strode to the plate in all three of this plate appearances. During his second trip, the crowd erupted in a chant of “Albert! Albert!” On his third at-bat, Pujols got a standing ovation when he came to the plate and after he legged out an infield single.
With Pujols on second base in the seventh representing the tying run, Angels manager Brad Ausmus removed him for a pinch-runner. The move was made for strategic reasons but it gave the Busch Stadium faithful, many of whom wore replicas of Pujols’ old No. 5 Cardinals jersey, one last chance to shower him with adoration.
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Albert Pujols hits a single in his final at-bat in his return to Busch Stadium, only to be pulled from the game to a standing ovation by his former home crowd.
“Not at all [surprised],” Ausmus said. “I expected it. Having played here many times, I’ve seen how Cardinal fans react to even visiting players. I fully expected that to happen.”
The only bad part of it for Pujols was the final result: St. Louis won 5-1, before an announced crowd of 48,423 – the second-largest crowd in the history of Busch Stadium.
Not only was it his first game back at the scene of his old glories as a player — Pujols said before the game that he hadn’t been back to the park at all since he and the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 to clinch the 2011 World Series title.
“I drove by it once,” Pujols said. “Because I had an event [nearby].
Players change teams and revisit old stomping grounds every season, but this one is special, both because of Pujols’ status as one of the greatest Cardinals ever and because of the special connection to the city he has maintained to this day. Pujols’ foundation still operates in St. Louis and he still owns a house in the city’s suburbs.
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Pujols said before the game. “I’m pretty sure when I take the field … it will be [special]. I’m not really an emotional guy. But it’s probably going to get to me. It’s getting to me now.”
Thunderstorms passed through St. Louis on Friday, canceling batting practice, but as the Busch Stadium grounds crew rolled up the tarp and began preparing the rain-soaked field, early-arriving fans crowded along the rail next to the Angels’ side of the field, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pujols.
Meanwhile, inside the ballpark, Pujols exchanged hugs and handshakes with numerous familiar faces from the old days. If anyone was still raw about the fact that Pujols left the club for a 10-year, $240 million contract, you’d never guess it by the scene inside the ballpark. In fact, Pujols said that in all of the years since he changed teams, he has never encountered anyone who has expressed resentment over his decision.
“The reality is here,” Pujols said of the long-awaiting return. “It’s just amazing. Started my career here, 11 years, the success that I had here, nine playoffs, two World Series, the best fans in baseball. I use the [saying] that I came here as little boy and I left as a really strong and grown man.”
The ovation during his first at-bat was expected, as he’s the all-time leader in batting average, homers and extra-base hits at the current Busch Stadium, the third venue in St. Louis to bear that name. Though it has been eight years since he toiled for the Redbirds, Pujols ranks second all time in the franchise’s history in homers (445), RBIs (1,329) and extra-base hits (915).
Yet despite the Cooperstown-worthy numbers, the nine trips to the postseason and the two World Series crowns, Pujols says it still comes back to the friendships he has built over the years. That’s especially true of the two remaining Cardinals players from his St. Louis days, pitcher Adam Wainwright and Molina, whom Pujols has many times referred to as his little brother.
“I think the best things you build in this game is the relationships,” Pujols said. “Nobody can take that away from you. And you play this game for 20 years or whatever — hopefully you live longer than what you play.
“That’s why you build these great relationships. That is why it’s more important to me than what I have accomplished.”
If anyone thought that Pujols might have damaged those relationships with his now long-past decision to sign with the Angels, they were proven wrong on Friday night.
“This is an incredible moment for me tonight, and it’s something I’m gonna put it right up there with the accomplishment of winning the World Series twice here,” Pujols said. “Because this was a pretty special night, not just for me. For my wife, my five beautiful kids to have part of that, and all my friends too. It’s very special.”
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