OC Register: Albert Pujols passes Stan Musial on career RBI list with perfect timing

[AngelsWin.com]

MINNEAPOLIS – A little rain couldn’t spoil the weekend for Albert Pujols, or the bus full of fans that journeyed more than 500 miles to see him make history.

On Saturday, Pujols hit the 623rd home run of his career. The solo homer allowed him to tie another former St. Louis Cardinals great, Stan Musial, with 1,951 career runs batted in.

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Sunday, Pujols drove in three more runs. The 1,952nd RBI – a single off the end of his bat in the first inning – landed in center field, so Pujols was able to keep the historic baseball. In the ninth inning, he singled again to drive in the final two runs of the Angels’ 7-5 loss.

Pujols said he kept that ball too, but he didn’t plan to hold onto either one for long.

“Both of the baseballs are going to go to (Musial’s) family, because I believe they deserve that,” Pujols said.

"He is a legend in St. Louis…The time I shared with him in my 11 years that I was there was pretty special." – @PujolsFive on Stan Musial. pic.twitter.com/H47KuBPsSD

— Angels (@Angels) June 10, 2018

The first 1,329 RBIs of Pujols’ career came as a Cardinal. The last 625 have come as an Angel.

“Getting to St. Louis and getting drafted by the organization, I grew up and pretty much and learned about the history and what kind of man (Musial) was,” he said. “It’s pretty special that the Lord allowed me the opportunity to spend some time with him before he left this Earth. He made a big impact on my life.”

Jody Boen, along with her children, befriended Pujols in St. Louis years ago. She helped organize a cheering section for Pujols, called Christian Family Day, that has traveled to see him play on the road once a year in six of Pujols’ seven seasons with the Angels.

In 2012, the maiden bus journeyed to Chicago to watch the Angels play the White Sox, Boen said. Trips to Kansas City, Atlanta, Denver and Cleveland followed. This year, about 45 fans were on the bus to Minneapolis.

“Last year, they contacted the Down Syndrome Association, so they were able to bring kids with Down Syndrome to the game,” Pujols said. “The Boen Family, they were the first family when we got to St. Louis in 2001 to really open the doors to us and make us feel like (we were) home. It’s a relationship that we have since Day 1 when I stepped foot in the big leagues.”

Boen said that Pujols volunteered to pay for the bus fare and a group dinner each time.

“We didn’t ask for anything,” Boen said. “He’s giving it all to us.”

Rain postponed the first pitch of Saturday’s game by four hours, so the annual group dinner took place a bit later than planned.

With Pujols passing Musial, the timing of this year’s trip could not have been better for a group of Cardinals fans.

“In St. Louis, Stan was the hero for everybody,” Pujols said.

NATIONAL CONTROVERSY

Pujols is alternately listed as possessing either sixth place or seventh place on the all-time RBI list. Why?

Hall of Famer Cap Anson began his playing career in the National Association in 1871. MLB does not officially recognize the National Association as a major league. Therefore, the 195 RBIs Anson collected before jumping to the National League in 1876 are not counted on MLB’s website.

Other websites count all of Anson’s 2,075 RBIs toward his official total, which would rank fourth all-time and push Pujols down to seventh.

ROTATION SET

Andrew Heaney, “TBA” and Garrett Richards are listed as the Angels’ starting pitchers each of the next three days in Seattle. TBA ostensibly refers to “Time for Barría Again,” since right-hander Jaime Barría is the only healthy member of the Angels’ regular rotation who can start Tuesday on normal rest.

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It’s the Angels’ first time through the rotation since losing Shohei Ohtani to a sprained right elbow ligament. Heaney will have an extra day’s rest since his last outing, a complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals last Tuesday.

Richards and Barría will both start on four days’ rest. Richards tossed 5 1/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Barría would need to be recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake, where he threw 41 pitches over three innings Thursday in his most recent start against the Round Rock Express.

ALSO

Andrelton Simmons continues to make progress in his recovery from a sprained ankle, Manager Mike Scioscia said, but there is no timetable for his return. … Catcher Rene Rivera has resumed baseball activities, including throwing and hitting off a tee. Rivera has missed 21 games since undergoing surgery on the meniscus in his right knee.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Andrew Heaney, 3-4, 3.12 ERA) at Seattle (LHP Wade LeBlanc, 1-0 2.94), 7 p.m,. Fox Sports West

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