Albert Pujols Biography

Albert Pujols Biography

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (born January 16, 1980), better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. Currently a first baseman, Pujols is considered one of the top players in Major League Baseball and the most feared hitter in baseball, according to a poll of all 30 MLB managers in 2008.He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2001 and has since been selected as an All-Star nine times, has won the National League Most Valuable Player Award three times, has twice won the National League Hank Aaron Award, and has a World Series ring from the Cardinals 2006 title.

At the end of the 2010 season, he led all active players in batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.624), and on-base percentage (.426), and ranks among the Top 40 leading home run hitters in Major League Baseball history. He was selected by ESPN.com as the greatest player of the decade from 2000–2009. He stands 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), weighs 230 pounds (100 kg), bats and throws right-handed.

Born on January 16, 1980, Pujols was raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by his grandmother. Pujols and his family immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1996, first to New York City. In the U.S., Pujols displayed his hitting skill by batting over .500 in his first season at Fort Osage High School in Independence, Missouri, twice earning all-state honors. Pujols graduated from high school in December 1998. He attended Maple Woods Community College in the Kansas City area in spring of 1999. In his only college season, Pujols hit a grand slam and turned an unassisted triple play in his first game. He batted .461 for the year.

Pujols married his wife, Deidre, on January 1, 2000. They have four children, Isabella (Deidre's daughter, from a previous relationship), Albert Jr., Sophia, and Ezra. Albert and his wife are active in the cause of people with Down syndrome, as Isabella was born with this condition. He has taken part-ownership in Patrick's Restaurant in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The remodeled restaurant was re-opened as Pujols 5 in 2006.

Pujols is close friends with third baseman Plácido Polanco, a former teammate with the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols is godfather to Polanco's 3-year-old son, Ismael. Polanco and Pujols played on opposite teams in the 2006 World Series.

In 2007 Pujols became a U.S. citizen, scoring a perfect 100 on his citizenship test. Later that year Upper Deck Authenticated announced it had signed Pujols to an exclusive autographed memorabilia agreement.

In 2008, Pujols agreed to help bring a MLS franchise to St. Louis by using his reputation and a large financial investment.

Pujols and his wife are devout and active Christians; one of his writings on his family's foundation's website states, "In the Pujols family, God is first. Everything else is a distant second". He writes, "My life's goal is to bring glory to Jesus. My life is not mostly dedicated to the Lord, it is 100% committed to Jesus Christ and His will. God has given me the ability to succeed in the game of baseball. But baseball is not the end; baseball is the means by which my wife, Dee Dee, and I glorify God. Baseball is simply my platform to elevate Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior." Pujols attends a Baptist church.

Pujols and Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa attended Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally in Washington, D.C., after being assured by Beck that the rally was not political. During the rally, Pujols was presented with a "Badge of Merit" for "Hope."