Albert Pujols Just Pitched the 9th Inning for the Cardinals, Surviving Back-to-Back Homers in the Process
I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but for my money, one of my favorite things is when a position player takes the mound in a blowout. The game has already become deeply un-fun for casuals and fans of the loser, and has even become only medium fun for fans of the winner. So inject more fun, why don’t you?!
Tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals were blowing out the San Francisco Giants, and they turned to a position player to pitch. A 42-year-old, future Hall-of-Fame position player who has never pitched before in his life:
MLB’s newest two-way player, Albert Pujols! pic.twitter.com/iJwjHtSyDx
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 16, 2022
— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2022
It was fun to see everyone explode at the possibility of getting to see Pujols pitch, and it was also fun to see him give up back-to-back homers, because hey, that’s funny (the first batter there, Luis Gonzalez, an outfielder, was also pitching at the time):
Pitcher on pitcher violence 💀 pic.twitter.com/WE16yRuQEk
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 16, 2022
As called on ESPN Deportes: pic.twitter.com/a3Cx2eJpch
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 16, 2022
Despite the back-to-back shots, Pujols managed to close it down thereafter, locking up the 13-run save:
You never know what you're going to see when you come to the ballpark.@PujolsFive finishes the W for the @cardinals! pic.twitter.com/DM4aUkE4R1
— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2022
Sure, his ERA is now up to 36.00, but his 32.12 FIP suggests he has merely been unlucky. We’ll probably see some positive regression next time.
