Hasta la vista, Albert Pujols.
Before “The Machine” descends into the molten steel like the T-800 in “Terminator 2,” he’s putting finishing touches on a Hall of Fame career and giving fans one last show.
The slugger, finishing out the 2022 season with the Cardinals, is continuing his quest to become the fourth player in MLB history to reach the 700 home run plateau. He looks to join Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) as the only sluggers to earn their exclusive club jacket.
Like bananas, home runs come in bunches, and Pujols has put himself in prime position to make a run at 700 over the last month of the season. Pujols has hit six home runs in his last seven games (through Aug. 22), and with 693 home runs and 41 games left to play this year, he’s got a shot.
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Pujols’ career is winding down, and he’s going out with a bang — hopefully, at least seven more of them. Here’s how it breaks down:
Albert Pujols stats
As of Aug. 22, Pujols has 693 home runs. The Cardinals have 41 games left to play in the regular season.
Helping Pujols in his quest for 700 is his torrid home run rate (HR/PA), which sits at 6.1 percent for the 2022 season. He’s gotten extremely hot in August, with seven home runs in 40 plate appearances, that number sits at 17.5 percent.
Perhaps helping Pujols’ case is that he’s going to face a fair amount of familiar pitching through the end of the season: 28 of the remaining 41 games in St. Louis’ schedule are against NL Central opponents.
Albert Pujols home run pace
There’s still a good chance that Pujols can reach the 700 home run mark this season.
Heading into the start of a series vs. the Cubs on Aug. 23, Pujols has a 9.1 percent chance that he finishes with at least 700 home runs, assuming that he plays at the same pace that he has already this season. He also has a 4.9 percent chance of finishing with exactly 700 home runs.
If Pujols plays in all of St. Louis’ remaining games, then he has a 41.6 percent chance to reach the 700 home run mark, and a 14.2 percent chance to finish with exactly 700 home runs.
TSN’s Edward Sutelan contributed to this story.
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