Albert Pujols hit his 600th career home run on Saturday night, helping lead the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim of a win over the Minnesota Twins. Pujols became the ninth player in MLB history to reach the milestone.
In addition to Pujols, the elite company is comprised of Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa and Jimmy Thome. Prior to Pujols, Thome was the last to reach 600 homers, doing so in 2011.
One aspect that separates Pujols from others in the illustrious group is he’s the first to join on a grand slam. What’s more, the grand slam was one of seven hit in the Majors on Saturday, which set a record.
Pujols began his 17th season with 591 career homers. He hit home runs in back-to-back games, but was stuck on 599 since May 30. News of his accomplishment was recognized by teams and players throughout baseball.
Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig were among those to congratulate the future Hall of Famer. Pederson did so via Instagram:
Puig shared kind words for Pujols on Twitter:
Felicidades @PujolsFive por estar en el club de@600 eres grande entre los grande #Pujols600 @AngelsBeisbol @Angels the best future HOF 🙏🏽👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/8u4ieCTlCW
— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) June 4, 2017
Pederson and Pujols have bonded through their charitable work. Pederson’s older brother, Champ, has referred to Pujols as one of his favorite players. Champ also shares a close relationship with the Angels slugger.
Puig has looked to Pujols as something of a mentor. Puig sought advice from Pujols and Seattle Mariners All-Star Robison Cano in 2014, and again leading up to the 2017 season.
