This is the final year of Albert Pujols' 10-year, $240 million contract with the Angels. Earlier this season, the two sides split with the Angels releasing Pujols. They're still on the hook for his full salary, though, because that's how these deals work in Major League Baseball. Pujols ended up signing with the Dodgers.
Sunday, the two teams were squaring off and Pujols launched one against his former team.
Vintage Pujols there with the stand-and-look immediately following the launch. It went 418 feet. That's Pujols' ninth homer for the Dodgers, but his first against his former team since leaving. He hit 222 homers in an Angels uniform after his 445 with the Cardinals.
That shot was the 676th of Pujols' illustrious career. He's fifth all-time, trailing Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez. He's now exactly 20 back of A-Rod's 696. Obviously Pujols, 41, is not going to hit 20 more this season -- if he did, that would really be something at his age -- so if he wants to catch A-Rod and then shoot for 700, he'd have to catch on somewhere next season. The smart money is on him staying put in fifth place.
The Dodgers' 8-1 win over the Angels moved them to 67-45 on the season. It's the second-best record in the National League and firmly in playoff position, but they still trail the Giants by four games in the National League West. The rivals only have three games left against each other, Sept. 3-5 in San Francisco.
