Albert Pujols is a Dominican American first baseman who plays in the MLB and is a right-handed batter and thrower. Throughout his 18-season career, Pujols has solidified himself as one of the league’s best hitters and top first basemen to ever play the game. He has a career batting average of .304 with over 3,000 hits and 600 home runs.
He currently plays for the Los Angeles Angels, and previously played on the St. Louis Cardinals for 11 seasons. While on the Cardinals, Pujols was a three-time National League MVP (2005, 2008, 2009) and a nine-time All-Star (2001, 2003-2010). He made his tenth All-Star appearance with the Angels in 2015.
Albert Pujols Net Worth As Of 2019: $110 Million
A long and successful career in the MLB is a guaranteed way to earn you lots and lots of cash. Just ask Pujols. He’s worth $110 million and is currently in his seventh year of a ten-year contract worth $240 million. Let’s take a look back at how this future Hall of Famer came to be.
Early Life
https://www.instagram.com/p/BehIVi3FA1k/?hl=en&taken-by=albertpujols
Pujols was born on January 16, 1980, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Pujols, his father, and his grandmother immigrated in 1996 to New York City. Two months later, the family relocated to Independence, Missouri to join some relatives and live somewhere safer. Pujols played baseball at Fort Osage High School in Independence and was named an All-State athlete twice. As a senior, he was walked 55 times in protest because opposing coaches believed he was older than 18, but he still hit eight home runs in 33 at-bats. After graduating high school a semester early in December 1998, Pujols was given a baseball scholarship to play at Maple Woods Community College. In his freshman season, he hit .461 with 22 home runs. After the season, he decided to enter the MLB draft.
1999-2000
https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5SDMSFU0V/?hl=en&taken-by=albertpujols
Few teams were interested in Pujols because of the uncertainty about his age, which position he would play, and his build. Pujols was not drafted until the 13th round of the 1999 Draft when the St. Louis Cardinals selected him with the 402nd overall pick. He turned down the Cardinals initial bonus offer of $10K and opted to play in a collegiate summer league to prove his stuff. After playing well in the summer league, the Cardinals upped their bonus to $60K and Pujols signed.
He began his minor league career in 2000 playing third base with the Peoria Chiefs of the single-A Midwest League. He batted .324 with 128 hits, 17 home runs, and 84 RBI, in 109 games. He was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player and named to the All-Star team. The Cardinals took notice of the young Pujols and in the same 2000 season, he was moved up to play for the AAA Memphis Redbirds. He played in three regular-season games and the postseason for the Redbirds and continued to perform at a high level. He helped the team win their first PCL title and was named the postseason MVP.
2001-2011
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd0p7GWFFT9/?hl=en&taken-by=albertpujols
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa promoted Albert Pujols to the big leagues prior to the 2001 season. Although the team didn’t need Pujols to fill any particular position, he started every game that year at either third base, right field, left field, or third base. He entered the Majors in a big way and finished the year batting .329 with 37 home runs and 130 RBIs. In his rookie year, Pujols was named the Rookie of the Year and selected to his first MLB All-Star team. By the end of his 11-season tenure with the Cards, he won two World Series, three NL MVPs, and was selected to the All-Star team nine times.
2012-Present
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU52ztxFNOV/?hl=en&taken-by=albertpujols
After the 2011 season when Pujols was 31-years-old, he signed a ten-year deal with the LA Angels worth $240 million. Pujols has played a total of seven seasons with the Angels and been named an All-Star once (2015) while on the team. While with the Cardinals, he only batted below .300 once in 2011 when he hit .299. He has yet to hit above the .300 mark with the Angels. Though his hitting stats have fallen off a bit in LA, he continues to put up solid stats. In his seven seasons with the Angels, his batting average is .261 with an average of 28 homers and 100 RBIs per season. Not bad for the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiaM5LwFQDf/?hl=en&taken-by=albertpujols
https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5SDMSFU0V/?hl=en&taken-by=albertpujols
2019
Albert Pujols is expected to be ready for the Angles spring training; he has gone under surgery on his left knee last April.
