Albert Pujols, the Los Angeles Angels slugging first baseman, is the newest player to join Major League Baseball’s ultra-exclusive “600 Home Run Club,” a fraternity that holds just nine members. He crushed home run No. 600 – a grand slam, in fact – on June 4, 2017, in the fourth inning off Minnesota Twins starter Ervin Santana. With that moon shot, Pujols joined the likes of Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Alex Rodriguez (696), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Jim Thome (612) and Sammy Sosa (609).
This lot presents the home run Pujols launched just five days prior, No. 599, in a home game vs. Atlanta Braves on May 30, 2017. Pujols stepped up to the plate in the 3rd inning against veteran righty Bartolo Colon, with two on and one out and the Angels down 2-0. Boom! He blasted a no-doubter deep into the left-field bleachers to give the Halos a 3-2 lead. The Angels put nine-spot on the board that inning on their way to a 9-3 win. Our teenage consignor made a great catch in traffic as you can clearly see in the video at the bottom of page. The official MLB (Manfred) Rawlings baseball shows game use and includes specific markings of “A” and “6” on the top and bottom, respectively, of the blue MLB logo on the ball’s south panel. Game balls were specially marked as Pujols neared #600. The top of the baseball includes an official MLB authentication hologram sticker, which was affixed right there in the stadium that evening.
Besides signifying "The Machine’s" 599th round-tripper, this baseball also represents his 2,873rd career hit, which matched the great Babe Ruth’s career hit total. In fact, Pujols reached the milestone hit in 30 fewer games than the famous “Sultan of Swat.” An incredible piece of game-used baseball history connected to the career of one of the game’s greatest bashers in history.
MLB Auth. #JB 823846. Includes detailed letter of provenance from our young consignor who caught the ball.