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According to Ben Verlander of Fox Sports, the fan who caught the ball hit by Albert Pujols for his 700th career home run on Friday night intends to keep it, turning down multiple offers for the ball before leaving Dodger Stadium with his possession. The unidentified fan now owns a piece of baseball history as Pujols became the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 700 home runs.
The designated hitter of the St. Louis Cardinals hit the home run milestone in back-to-back at-bats Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Pujols hitting No. 700 into the left-field pavilion during the fourth inning. With that home run, Pujols joined Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) as the only players in MLB history to never hit 700 home runs.
If the fan had been willing to give up the ball from Pujols’ home, he probably would have given him a very good reward from the Cardinals or whoever he wanted the ball from. Instead, the fan chose to stick with Major League history, something Pujols said afterward he wasn’t concerned about.
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“The memorabilia is for the fans. I don’t have a problem if they want to keep it,” Pujols said, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register . “If they want to give it back, that’s great. But at the end of the day, I’m not focused on material things.”
Pujols’ 700th home run helps complete his legacy after a 22-year major league career that has seen the 42-year-old do just about everything there is to accomplish in baseball, including winning three awards NL MVP and being selected to 11 All-Star Games and winning the World Series twice with the Cardinals. Pujols will retire at the end of the 2022 season.